Talks with Cambodia renew hope for deal on overlapping claims area in gulf, electricity cooperation on the cards

The Nation | 3 September 2014 

The Energy Ministry will hold discussions with Cambodia about cooperation in electricity and the overlapping petroleum-claims area in the Gulf of Thailand during the current official visit to Phnom Penh by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn.

Kurujit Nakornthap, director-general of the Mineral Fuels Department of the Energy Ministry, who is part of the Thai delegation, said the department hoped that after this visit, the Foreign Affairs Ministry would appoint a committee to resume negotiations with Cambodia on the overlapping claims area for the mutual benefit of the two nations as soon as possible. This is because it will take no less than 10 years to produce petroleum from the area once a deal is signed.

The area is believed to have potential given its proximity to the existing petroleum exploration and production fields in the gulf, he said.

"This visit is regarded as opening a new era for restarting the talks about the overlapping claims area, which have been delayed for a long time," said the official.

If a deal is reached, the Thailand-Cambodia overlapping claims area is likely to contribute significantly to Thailand's petroleum reserves, which are estimated to last for only another seven years, he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the government's order for petroleum concessionaires to cease crude-oil exports, which total 20,000 barrels per day, Kurujit said his department actually sent the request to petroleum producers three or four months ago, and there were no crude-oil exports last month. Chevron Exploration and Production Thailand, which is a major crude-oil producer, agreed to cooperate until there is a change in the government's order, he said.

A source from the Ministry of Energy said the negotiations with Cambodia on the overlapping claims area that covers 26,000 square kilometres would follow the guidelines of a memorandum of understanding signed in 2010 to divide negotiations into two parts. The upper area will be taken care of by military, security, and Foreign Ministry officials and the lower part will be negotiated under the Joint Development Area concept that was used successfully between Thailand and Malaysia in the past.

The prospects are to help Thailand increase its natural-gas reserves by 30 per cent and extend the production in the Gulf of Thailand by about 10 years.

Cambodia recently awarded a concession to Total of France to explore for petroleum in the overlapping claims area.