Singapore’s Kris collapses as Cambodia oil falls short
Published date: 07 June 2021

Singapore-based Kris Energy has gone into liquidation after production at Cambodia's first offshore oil field failed to meet expectations, leaving it unable to cover its debt.

Kris operates the Apsara field in Cambodia with a 95pc stake. The project in the Gulf of Thailand started in December, with peak production targeted at 7,500 b/d by mid-February.

But production peaked at around 3,500 b/d in March and averaged less than 2,500 b/d since coming on line. The field's reservoirs appear less productive than results from the appraisal wells had suggested, and both production and oil-in-place estimates are likely to be lower than expected, Kris said in late March.

Kris had been depending on cash flow from the project to support a restructuring exercise that it began after being unable to meet its financial obligations. The company has no other viable restructuring options or sources of cash and so has submitted a winding up petition, it said on 4 June.

Kris also owns stakes in producing assets offshore Thailand and the Bangora gas field in Bangladesh, as well as upstream blocks in Thailand and Indonesia. It completed the farm-out of its interest in Vietnam's offshore Block 115 to an unnamed international oil and gas company in April and sold its stake in Indonesia's Andaman II production-sharing contract to BP in 2019.

The future of the Apsara project is unclear. The first cargo of up to 300,000 bl was due to be exported in May, according to the Cambodian energy ministry's director general of petroleum, Cheap Sour. It is unclear if the shipment took place.
https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2222 ... alls-short

This project always seemed "pie in the sky" to me. Not surprised its over. Im sure there were some big pockets lined with facilitation fees over the years.

Cambodia unclear on oil plans after partner heads towards liquidation
Reuters
2 minute read

Cambodia's government said on Thursday it had no immediate plan for maintaining oil production in the country, after its partner KrisEnergy announced it was headed to liquidation, just five months after extracting the country's first drop of oil.

Singapore-listed KrisEnergy (KRIS.SI) said on June 4 that it was "unable to pay its debts based on actual and/or contingent liabilities and will proceed to liquidation".

KrisEnergy signed a pact with Cambodia's government in 2017 to develop 3,083 sq km (1,190 sq miles) of the Khmer basin in the Gulf of Thailand known as Block A, after it bought out Chevron's (CVX.N) operating interest in 2014 for $65 million.

"I can't predict ... I can't answer this question, lets wait and see," Ministry of Mines and Energy spokesman said when asked about future oil production.

Tanya Pang, KrisEnergy Vice President, declined to comment when contacted by email, referring Reuters to past statements.

However, Cambodian government officials still celebrated the first drop of oil at a preservation ceremony in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, five days after KrisEnergy made its announcement.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 021-06-10/

HE declares oil extraction a 'failure' for Cambodia
Published
18 min ago

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Premier HE declared Cambodia's attempt at oil extraction a "failure" on Sunday (Aug 1), just eight months after the kingdom achieved its long-awaited milestone of producing its first drop of crude.

In late December, the nation announced it had extracted oil from its waters in the Gulf of Thailand which experts believe boasts significant deposits.

But the operation, led by Singapore's KrisEnergy, was endangered after the company was unable to pay its debts and filed for liquidation in June.

"On December 29, we announced the first drop of oil - perhaps now it is a failure," HE said Sunday.

KrisEnergy had forecast a peak production rate of 7,500 daily barrels - a modest amount compared with Cambodia's oil-producing neighbours Vietnam and Thailand.

"In the end, there were 1,000 barrels pumped out a day," HE said. "And now the company is bankrupt." He also claimed that KrisEnergy "fled with the tanker".

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"We couldn't prevent it on time... they ran away with the oil," the premier alleged, without giving any further details. AFP has contacted KrisEnergy for comment.

Before it filed for liquidation, KrisEnergy held a 95 per cent stake in the operation, while the government holds the rest.

The promised revenues could have been significant for the impoverished country, which estimated in 2017 that it would make at least US$500 million (S$677 million) in royalties and taxes from the project's first phase.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-as ... r-cambodia

Just cap the bloody wells! - Somebody.

no need to get the blood up again, stern
just be grateful Apsara was a dud - imagine what an environmental disaster zone a "successful" offshore oil field would have been with these mendacious incompetent thieving bastards in charge.
Even Chevron, even today, leaves a disaster zone behind them in the Gulf (in Thai waters) and worms out of this crucial legal /ethical /environmental /god-given responsibility.
ps, on a massive scale.

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:18 pm HE declares oil extraction a 'failure' for Cambodia
Published
18 min ago

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Premier HE declared Cambodia's attempt at oil extraction a "failure" on Sunday (Aug 1), just eight months after the kingdom achieved its long-awaited milestone of producing its first drop of crude.

In late December, the nation announced it had extracted oil from its waters in the Gulf of Thailand which experts believe boasts significant deposits.

But the operation, led by Singapore's KrisEnergy, was endangered after the company was unable to pay its debts and filed for liquidation in June.

"On December 29, we announced the first drop of oil - perhaps now it is a failure," HE said Sunday.

KrisEnergy had forecast a peak production rate of 7,500 daily barrels - a modest amount compared with Cambodia's oil-producing neighbours Vietnam and Thailand.

"In the end, there were 1,000 barrels pumped out a day," HE said. "And now the company is bankrupt." He also claimed that KrisEnergy "fled with the tanker".

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

"We couldn't prevent it on time... they ran away with the oil," the premier alleged, without giving any further details. AFP has contacted KrisEnergy for comment.

Before it filed for liquidation, KrisEnergy held a 95 per cent stake in the operation, while the government holds the rest.

The promised revenues could have been significant for the impoverished country, which estimated in 2017 that it would make at least US$500 million (S$677 million) in royalties and taxes from the project's first phase.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-as ... r-cambodia

exactly Cammo
lol, i put that song up ^^ back on page 6 but i notice it now says "unavailable"
still says it well tho'

Or maybe it really was just real love that wouldn't let them go

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Mon Sep 28, 2020 2:13 am Baby, hold me tight
Girl, you know I love
Ooh, you know I need you

Well, I know I was wrong
But, I was just a fool
Too blind to see
You were the only girl for me

lol, still on the back catalogue... just cos i like this koh kong photo and finally got a chance to use appropriately

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Sat Apr 03, 2021 4:04 am

Close your eyes (quick) if you don't like the sight of blood in the water

"In the end, there were 1,000 barrels pumped out a day," HE said. "And now the company is bankrupt." He also claimed that KrisEnergy "fled with the tanker".
"We couldn't prevent it on time... they ran away with the oil," the premier alleged, without giving any further details. AFP has contacted KrisEnergy for comment.

UPDATE
Indonesia seizes tanker wanted over Cambodian oil heist
By Afp
Published: 09:37 BST, 25 August 2021 | Updated: 09:37 BST, 25 August 2021

The MT Strovolos was picked up by the Indonesian navy off the coast of Sumatra

Indonesia's navy said Wednesday it has seized a tanker and its crew who were wanted on charges of stealing nearly 300,000 barrels of crude oil from Cambodia's reserves.

The Bahamian-flagged MT Strovolos was picked up on July 27 off the coast of Sumatra, they said, days after Phnom Penh issued a red notice on Interpol to seize the ship over claims it stole the kingdom's crude.

Indonesia's navy said it was questioning the crew of 13 Indians, three Bangladeshis and a trio from Myanmar at its base near Singapore.

The 183-metre (600-foot) tanker, sailing from Thailand to Indonesia's Batam island, had turned off its identification system and anchored illegally in the archipelago's waters, naval authorities said.

Its Bangladeshi captain could face up to a year in prison and a $14,000 fine if convicted on maritime violation charges, they added.

"The Indonesian navy will not hesitate to take action against any type of crimes committed within Indonesia's jurisdictional territory," First Fleet commander Arsyad Abdullah said in a statement.

The tanker had been rented by Singapore's KrisEnergy for storage as part of Cambodia's recent bid to extract its own oil, authorities said.

But the company was unable to pay its debts and filed for liquidation in June, still allegedly owing money to the tanker crew, they added.

"The company... reported to our government that the tanker stole the oil. There are some 290,000 barrels of crude" aboard, Cheap Suor, director-general of petroleum at the Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy, told AFP.

"(But) the tanker said KrisEnergy owed it money."

The two countries were working on a plan to return the oil to Cambodia, he added.
burs/pb/axn/ Daily Mail

^^^
Aspara; The oil field that just kept on giving..

I had supposed that the oil was probably stolen with a local wink wink,
One thing i am pretty sure the Okhnas are not stupid about - letting 20 million bucks worth of oil just leak away unwatched.
yeah right
I hope the skipper burned the piece of paper with the list of various Swiss account numbers and who gets what.

World Tankers Management Strongly Denies Wrongdoing After Indonesia Seizes Tanker
Mike Schuler
August 25, 2021


tanker MT Strovolos
The operator of the Bahamas-flagged products tanker MT Strovolos is denying ‘inaccurate’ reports that the vessel was illegally transporting Cambodian crude oil after the ship was detained for anchoring in Indonesian waters without permission. Rather, the Singapore-based operator says the tanker was in Indonesia only to conduct a ‘long-overdue’ crew change and is calling for the release all crew members.

The 44,106 dwt Strovolos and its crew were detained Tuesday by Indonesian authorities who allege the vessel had anchored in its waters off Batam without permission and at request of the Cambodian government, which is accusing the tanker of illegally loading 300,000 barrels of crude oil.

However, a statement from the ship’s operator, World Tankers Management, insists that the vessel was in Indonesia purely for humanitarian reasons and has been operating within the scope of its charter. According to the statement, the ship’s charterers loaded a cargo of crude oil at Cambodia’s Apsara field in the Gulf of Thailand back in May “on the understanding that the cargo belonged to the charters.”

After the charterers failed to pay, World Tankers Management says the Strovolos and its crew sailed to Thailand to refuel and, while there, they also tried to conduct a crew change, as many of the ship’s crew had remained on board since September. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the crew transfer was never conducted and the charter was eventually terminated, at which point World Tankers Management requested the removal of the cargo by ship-to-ship transfer “at a convenient and practical location.” The company said an agreement was never reached.

According to the World Tankers Management, when the vessel arrived in Thailand it was boarded by the Royal Thai Navy, supposedly at the request of the Cambodian government, but they never detained the vessel and allowed it to sail.

“Following the intervention of lawyers, the IMO and the Bahamas Maritime Authority, the Royal Thai Navy stepped back and allowed the vessel to sail to Batam, Indonesia, to make the crew change there as it was not permitted in Thailand due to Covid-19 restrictions,” the company said in its statement.

“We as owners stress that the reason for the vessel proceeding to Batam was for humanitarian purposes, to effect the long overdue crew change and allow the crew to return home to their families in accordance with their basic rights,” the statement continues.

“However, the owners have also been faced with difficulties affecting the necessary crew change in Indonesia. The vessel initially waited off Batam in view of the travel restrictions placed by Indonesia due to COVID-19. It is alleged by the Indonesian Navy that the vessel did not have permission to anchor in Indonesian waters.”

World Tankers Management is now denying wrongdoing, including “wrongful allegations made by the Cambodian Government that the vessel and its crew had committed criminal offenses in relation to the vessel’s departure from the Apsara field to refuel.”

The company is now worried about the well-being of its seafarers, saying it has been made aware that the Cambodian government has allegedly requested to Interpol that the crew be extradited back to the country.

Media reports indicate that the Captain of the tanker, a Bangladesh national, has now been accused of anchoring in Indonesian territory without permission and could face up to one year in prison, plus fines, if found guilty.

“The vessel has been wrongly charged with stealing the cargo. It is not and has never at any time been our intention to misappropriate the cargo,” World Tankers Management said in its statement.
https://gcaptain.com/world-tankers-mana ... ain.com%29