PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The oil shock from the Iran conflict has created renewed urgency for Cambodia to resolve a festering maritime dispute with Thailand and unlock undersea energy resources worth US$300 billion, Cambodia’s energy minister said on Wednesday (May 27).
Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about a fifth of the global oil supply, has turned conflict there into the worst-ever global energy crisis.
Cambodia is relying on renewable energy sources including hydropower and a growing solar capacity to weather the current crisis, but its hopes for further industrialisation rest on more fossil fuel assets, Minister of Mines and Energy Keo Rottanak told Reuters in an interview.
“Before the crisis, perhaps all nations could take energy security a bit more lightly,” he said. “But the ongoing crisis, especially the pressure from the Strait of Hormuz, has only brought energy security of any nation into sharper focus.”
Cambodia has been in a boundary dispute for decades with its larger neighbour Thailand, discord that sparked two bouts of fighting last year that killed close to 150 people before the latest ceasefire in December.
An area of around 27,000 square km (10,400 square miles) in the Gulf of Thailand that is claimed by both countries is estimated to hold around 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, alongside large quantities of oil.
International oil and gas majors, including TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, are keen on potentially starting offshore exploration activities if the neighbours can resolve their disagreements over a patch of sea in the Gulf of Thailand, he said, adding that harnessing the oil and gas resources would be a win-win for Thailand and Cambodia.
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