“In Europe, the demand for sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) is high,” he said. “Therefore, the fact that the factory can meet European requirements confirms that Cambodian food standards are acceptable in the international market, which is The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) has plans to build an oil refinery to ensure domestic fuel reserves even as it continues the quest for investors for oil exploration both onshore and offshore in Cambodia.
“In the near future, the ministry plans to ask for a domestic petroleum refining project for having strategic petroleum reserves, even though Cambodia’s oil market is small,” said Keo Rattanak, Minister of Mines and Energy, at the ministry’s annual meeting last Thursday.
The minister said that MME has increased its focus on safety in transportation, storage, distribution and use of petroleum products as it goes ahead with plans for a strategic petroleum refining industry.
The move comes at a time when the government, through MME, is seeking investors in Block A besides exploring the potential in other blocks.
Cambodia’s reliance on imported petroleum and diesel has continued to grow with imports surging 16 percent to $3.23 billion in the first ten months of this year, according to a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).
Between January and October, the Kingdom imported mineral fuels, mineral oil and other products of their distillation.
MME forecasts that the demand for oil products in Cambodia will rise to 4.8 million tonnes in 2030, up from 2.8 million tonnes in 2020.
As its seabed’s oil reserves have not been tapped yet, Cambodia is reliant on imports for its fuel supply from Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Cambodian retailers import fuel from players including Tela Sokimex, Papa Savimex, Lim Long, and others. Foreign companies that import fuel to Cambodia include Total, Caltex, and PTT.
Regarding offshore oil exploration, the ministry has received interest from nine companies for Block A, of which four have submitted proposals to develop oil fields, while five others have not yet submitted formal development applications.
The four companies that have submitted development applications are EnerCam Resources Co Ltd (EnerCam) from Canada, Cambodian Gather Energy Co Ltd from China, Vietnam Investment Construction Services from Vietnam and MPC Future Company Limited Co Ltd from Thailand.
The other five companies that have not yet submitted formal development applications are Valeura Energy Inc and Lee Li Holdings Inc from Canada, Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd from Vietnam, BP from the United Kingdom and UACU from Thailand.
