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Colleagues, Thought these pieces from Platts dated 14th and 15th August might be of interest Best wishes - Charles Charles Gurdon Menas Associates ------------------------------------------------------------- Cambodia, Thailand seek E&P pact on shared area Thailand and Cambodia hope to firm up production-sharing agreements soon for oil/gas exploration in their 27,000 sq km Overlapping Claims Area in the Gulf of Thailand, considered to be "highly prospective" for hydrocarbons, Te Duong Tara, director general of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, said Aug 14. So far, only one of nine blocks in the overlapping claims area has been awarded. "ChevronTexaco was awarded offshore Block A in March, although the official signing ceremony will be held tomorrow [Aug 15]," Tara said. ChevronTexaco, operator of the 6,278-sq-km block, plans to drill at least two wells by January or February 2003, he added. ChevronTexaco will hold a 70% stake in the project, and Japans Mitsui Oil Exploration will hold 30%. Tara said the two countries are eager to conclude new deals for resource develop-ment in the region. "Thailands Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai visited Phnom Penh at the end of last week, and held very successful discussions with Prime Minister Hun Sen over how to jointly develop the overlapping acreage" he said. "We hope to firm up produc-tion sharing agreements in oil exploitation soon." The area is estimated to hold natural gas reserves of up to 11 Tcf, as well as unknown amounts of oil and condensate. "We are committed to negotiating each production sharing contract on a case by case basis, and will offer the most flexible terms and the best fiscal incentives package," Tara said --------------------------- CAMBODIA: The Cambodian National Petroleum Authority Aug 15 formally awarded the 6,278-sq-km Block A in Cam-bodian waters of the Gulf of Thailand to ChevronTexaco, an authority official said. Block A lies about 20km offshore the Cam-bodian coastal town of Kas Rong. (The Platts Oilgram News story of Aug 15 was incorrect in stating Block A lies in the Over-lapping Claims Area of the Gulf of Thailand between Cambodia and Thailand.) ChevronTexaco, operator of the block, holds 70%, in partnership with Japans Mitsui Oil Exploration Co, with 30%, the authority official said.