The proposal for a joint development area (JDA) for oil and gas exploration in the overlapping claims between Thailand and Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand was reportedly discussed at the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (Dec 3).
During the discussions, which lasted around 20 minutes, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan informed the Cabinet that he had met with Cambodian Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem last month to discuss the potential joint project.
The Cambodian minister, during the gathering, expressed willingness to pursue a JDA with Thailand, but only on the condition that territorial borders were not included in the agreement.
Gen Prawit later informed the Cabinet of Cambodia’s decision to move forward with the JDA due to rising global oil prices and the potential for the two countries to rely on their own energy resources through the extraction of oil and gas from the JDA, as well as the potential for the development of related industries.
The Cabinet also agreed to establish a committee, chaired by a foreign ministry official, to oversee the JDA with Cambodia, using the Thai-Malaysian JDA as a model.
The overlapping area between the two countries covers approximately 26,000 square kilometers in the Gulf of Thailand, with the planned joint development project covering an area of around 16,000 square kilometers. (NNT)
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