In spite of Te Duong Dara's denial, Hun Sen's regime to sign mainland oil and gas deal after the election with France and China

France, China to sign oil and gas deal with Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Jun 13, 2008 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- France's oil and gas company TOTAL and China National Offshore Oil Corporation CNOOC are expected to sign a deal with Cambodia to explore oil and gas on the mainland of Cambodia.

The signing ceremony will take place this year, following the conclusion of Cambodia's parliamentary election scheduled on July 27.

Currently, other oil and gas companies in the world such as Moeco, Jogmec, GS Gallex, Pan Orient and Inpex are working with Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA) to reach agreements on oil and gas exploration in the country.

Oil Contracts Remain a 'Mystery': Lawmaker

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report of Phnom Penh
12 June 2008

Cambodian National Petroleum Authority denied to comment on media reports Thursday that two companies were close to signing drilling contracts for onshore oil exploration.

France's Total and the government Chinese national Offshore Oil Corp near deals for onshore exploration, the Cambodia Daily reported Thursday.

Petroleum authority chief Te Doung Dara would not confirm the report.

Sok Sina, an independent economic analyst, said the government should show the contracts to the public for consideration before signing them.

Eng Chhay Ieng, secretary-general of the Sam Rainsy Party, called the agreement a "mystery" related to corruption.

"Because we are the MPs, want to know the agreement," he said, "and the government must show us what they will do and what the meaning of the agreement is."

Petroleum Authority Talks About the Price of Oil

29th March 2008
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization
On the web at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

An official from the Petroleum Authority of Cambodia on Friday said that even if Cambodia can extract natural oil and gases from the Cambodian seabeds in 2011, the high prices of petrol in Cambodia will not drop lower than the prices of petrol in the world markets.

Mr Te Duong Dara, Secretary General of the Petroleum Authority of Cambodia, in a press conference in Phnom Penh on the management of oil and gas revenues for the alleviation of poverty in Cambodia, said that Cambodia cannot isolate itself from the rest of the world, so the local prices of oil and oil exports will have to depend on world market prices.

He stressed that the prices of Cambodian oil cannot be set differently from other countries of the world. Otherwise, all other countries will flock to buy oil from Cambodia and the Cambodian oil reserves will dry out very soon.

In relation to the above issue Mr Sok Hach, an economist based in Cambodia, declined to make any comments regarding the issue.

But Mr Son Chhay, a parliamentarian from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said there were so much secrecy regarding the oil issues. He said: “We have observed that there were so many hidden secrets regarding the oil explorations because the agreements made between the government and the oil exploration companies have never been released to the public. What we are very concerned about is the embezzlement of oil revenues by the persons who control those oil revenues.”

Mr Te Duong Dara’s comments were made at a time when there are anticipations that Cambodia can extract oil and gases for the first time from Block A in the next 3 years- that is in 2011.

He did not mention how much oil and gases can be extracted and how much revenues can be generated. But he noted that Cambodia’s partners in the oil exploration were not only the US oil company Chevron but they include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and some donor countries as well.

Based on the research conducted by the United Nations, the World Bank and other institutions in 2007, the oil reserves under the Cambodian seabeds were estimated to be about 2 billion barrels and natural gases at 283 million litres, which will generate revenues to the tune of 6 billion US dollars in the next two decades, based on the world market prices.

Other than Block A oil wells that Cambodia plans to extract for the first time in 2011, Cambodia has contracted with Singaporean and Malaysian companies to extract oil from Block B, with Hong Kong and Macau companies to extract oil from Block C, with Chinese companies in Block D and with Indonesian and Kuwaiti companies, Energy, in Block E.

Oil Official Predicts 2011 Production [-Experts: No guarantee that the production of oil would lead to prosperity for all]

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 March 2008

Cambodia expects to start production of its off-shore oil in 2011, a senior national oil official said Wednesday.

Production could begin "if there is no delay," said Te Duong Dara, director-general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, on the sideline of a conference between officials and international oil experts. "We will produce the first oil products for Cambodia in 2011 to reduce the import of oil."

The government's ministries were "working all together" to create proper laws and attract investment, he said.

"If we have the right laws and transparency, foreign investors will come to make their business with us," he said.

Estimates for six blocks of offshore development are in the hundreds of millions of barrels of crude and three times as much natural gas.

Experts warned Wednesday there was no guarantee that the production of oil would lead to prosperity for all.

"Economic growth in resource-rich developing countries has been on average two to three times lower than resource-poor countries," said Jo Scheuer, Cambodia director for UNDP, which sponsored the conference. "Many assume that the discovery of oil and gas reserves automatically translates into greater prosperity. Unfortunately, this is not the case."

Council Minister Sok An, who is also chairman of the national petroleum authority, said Wednesday Cambodia viewed the production of oil as a "vital step in contributing to the country's sustained economic development."

The government is responsible for transparency, he said, and managing the oil revenue to reduce poverty.

CNPA's Te Duong Dara: Cambodian oil production to start in 2011 [-Information on companies involved in the exploration still in the dark]

Cambodian oil production to start in 2011: energy official

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodia expects to begin oil production in 2011, a senior energy official said Wednesday amid warnings that new-found petroleum reserves did not guarantee instant prosperity for the impoverished country.

"If there is no delay, we are planning the first oil production for around 2011," said Te Duong Dara, director-general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA), speaking at a conference of global industry experts and energy company officials in Phnom Penh.

He declined to say how many companies were currently exploring for oil in six vast blocks off Cambodia's shores.

Following the discovery of oil in 2005 by the US energy giant Chevron, Cambodia was quickly feted as the region's next potential petro-state, sitting on an estimated hundreds of millions of barrels of crude, and three times as much natural gas in six blocks located off of the coast.

Chevron, the most active of several firms exploring the fields, remains mum, saying only that its test wells have found that the oil and gas is "dispersed rather than located in one core field," according an earlier statement.

Government optimism has also been blunted, with Prime Minister Hun Sen warning late last year that it was "highly premature" to estimate how much oil Cambodia might hold in undersea reserves after other officials projected that the country could begin production in 2009.

Concerns have also been raised over how Cambodia -- one of the world's most corrupt countries -- would use its new-found oil and gas wealth.

"Many assume the discovery of oil and gas reserves automatically translates into greater prosperity. Unfortunately, this is not the case," Jo Scheuer, Cambodian country director of the UN Development Agency, said Wednesday.

"Economic growth in resource-rich developing countries has been on average two to three times lower than resource-poor countries," he added.

"Cambodia's non-renewable resources are important assets that must be used wisely."

While GDP growth estimates remain some of the highest in the region, averaging 11 percent over the past three years, nearly a third of Cambodia's 14 million people survive on only 50 US cents a day or less.

Despite their uncertainty over how much oil can be pumped from Cambodia's reserves, government officials are adamant that petroleum profits would not be squandered, saying the sector is essential to the country's continued growth.

"The discovery of oil and gas ... is a vital step in contributing to the country's sustained economic development," said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who also chairs the CNPA.