A senior official said on Thursday that Cambodia will receive 70 percent of revenue from crude oil that was stolen by a tanker following a payment dispute with Singaporean energy company,KrisEnergy.
Cheap Sour, spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said that the results of negotiations to claim 290,254 barrels of Cambodian oil from MT Strovolos ship owners were completed through the signing of oil sales agreements, earning 70 percent of the total crude oil revenue.
Following the agreement, the crude oil was transferred from MT Strovolos to the purchaser on September 10. As a result of these negotiations, Cambodia received 70 percent of the total value.
"All the oil was sold and transferred to the buyer on September 10. We are waiting to receive the money within 30 days after the sale date, and the payment of other expenses," Sour told Kiripost.
He added that after 30 days of the oil transfer, the buyer will pay Cambodia. However, he has not yet been able to determine the amount of revenue, as revenue from oil sales is currently under evaluation.
Sour noted that the cost of solving the problem is deducted from the sale of crude oil. As the law firm has not yet issued the bill, he cannot yet tell the cost.
The company that will buy the oil is Trafigura, which will resell it, he said.
“Trafigura Company is the oil buyer. MT Strovolos received 24 percent, and KE Company debt 6 percent. Fuel maintenance costs are shared by all parties from February 2022,” Sour said.
Cambodia and all parties have agreed to rely on an independent agency to inspect the tanker set to return from Bangladesh to dock at the Gulf of Thailand bordering Cambodia, said Meng Sak Theara, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, during a press conference at the Office of the Council of Ministers.
The Cambodian government has filed a complaint of theft against the tanker after it sailed away with crude oil in the wake of a dispute over pay with KrisEnergy. The tanker, MT Strovolos, was detained by the Indonesian Navy last year.
KrisEnergy had produced nearly 300,000 barrels of oil, half of it in five wells. Nearly 200,000 barrels have not been pumped due to disruptions, Sak Theara said. He added that the Ministry and a Canadian energy company are studying together to restart the work, with existing equipment resuming work on the oil block soon.
