KrisEnergy ups stake to unclog offshore Block A oil
Singapore-listed KrisEnergy Ltd has upped its stake in the Block A offshore oil field to 95 percent, acquiring the shares of two minority stakeholders who had opposed the Cambodian government’s attempts to renegotiate a revenue-sharing model, the company revealed in its third-quarter filings. The document, released on November 3, shows that Japanese-backed MOECO Cambodia Co Ltd and South Korea’s GS Energy Corporation transferred their shares in Block A to KrisEnergy in early October for an undisclosed sum. MOECO previously held a 28.5 percent stake in the block, while GS Energy held 14.25 percent. The share transfer gives KrisEnergy full ownership of Block A, which covers 4,709 square kilometres in the Gulf of Thailand and contains the Apsara field, Cambodia’s only confirmed oil discovery. However, the Cambodian government reserves the right to exercise its 5 percent option. Meng Saktheara, secretary of state at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said he expects the revised ownership structure to end the stalemate that has hindered progress in developing the block’s oil resources.
