SINGAPORE, June 7 (Reuters) - Cambodia's hopes for oil riches took a hit on Thursday as U.S. major Chevron said technical challenges needed to be addressed before it moved to develop its offshore Block A.
Chevron completed a preliminary analysis of the results of its second drilling campaign on the block, which Cambodia has touted as most promising, and released a downbeat assessement, even though it confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons.
"The oil and gas in the reservoir is unique for the Gulf of Thailand, in that the hydrocarbons are dispersed rather than located in one core field," Chevron said in a statement.
The company said a third drilling campaign was being considered for late 2008-2009.
This will be a disappointment for Cambodia, one of the poorest Asian countries, which had hoped to see first oil by 2009 or 2010.
Te Duong Tara, director general of the National Petroleum Authority had said in January that Cambodia hoped to start pumping oil from offshore fields by 2009 or early 2010.
Estimated reserves on block A at 400-700 million barrels were never confirmed and Steve Green, Chevron Asia South managing director dampened talk that first production could be on stream by 2009 in an interview with Reuters last month.
Chevron operates the block with a 55 percent interest, while Mitsui Oil Exploration holds a 30 percent stake and South Korea's GS Caltex a 15 percent stake.
Revenue from even relatively small oil reserves would have a major impact on Cambodia's economy, which is still recovering from Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist revolution in the late 1970s.
Cambodia imports more than 1 million tonnes of refined oil products annually, mostly from Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
More hope may come from Block D where China Petrotech Holdings Limited completed a 3-D seismic survey earlier this year, leading to estimates of recoverable reserves of 227 million barrels of crude and 496 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
The company said in April it would draw up an exploration plan over the next few months before embarking on the first exploration well drilling programme.
Chevron completed a preliminary analysis of the results of its second drilling campaign on the block, which Cambodia has touted as most promising, and released a downbeat assessement, even though it confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons.
"The oil and gas in the reservoir is unique for the Gulf of Thailand, in that the hydrocarbons are dispersed rather than located in one core field," Chevron said in a statement.
The company said a third drilling campaign was being considered for late 2008-2009.
This will be a disappointment for Cambodia, one of the poorest Asian countries, which had hoped to see first oil by 2009 or 2010.
Te Duong Tara, director general of the National Petroleum Authority had said in January that Cambodia hoped to start pumping oil from offshore fields by 2009 or early 2010.
Estimated reserves on block A at 400-700 million barrels were never confirmed and Steve Green, Chevron Asia South managing director dampened talk that first production could be on stream by 2009 in an interview with Reuters last month.
Chevron operates the block with a 55 percent interest, while Mitsui Oil Exploration holds a 30 percent stake and South Korea's GS Caltex a 15 percent stake.
Revenue from even relatively small oil reserves would have a major impact on Cambodia's economy, which is still recovering from Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist revolution in the late 1970s.
Cambodia imports more than 1 million tonnes of refined oil products annually, mostly from Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
More hope may come from Block D where China Petrotech Holdings Limited completed a 3-D seismic survey earlier this year, leading to estimates of recoverable reserves of 227 million barrels of crude and 496 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
The company said in April it would draw up an exploration plan over the next few months before embarking on the first exploration well drilling programme.
