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Cambodia to boost navy to secure oil sites


Agence France-Presse

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia will triple the size of its navy to provide security for offshore oil sites, a report said Friday as the country's nascent petroleum sector gears up for production.

Minister of Defense Tea Bahn confirmed the plan, according to the English-language Cambodia Daily, while lawmakers called for better protection for foreign oil companies against terrorism.

"We need to post troops along the coast to provide security to oil exploration companies," lawmaker Yim Sovann was quoted by the Daily as saying.

"We want to protect the property of investors from terrorism," he added.

The government intends to increase the number of naval personnel from 1,000 to 3,000, as well as creating a force of some 2,000 marines.

But equipment could remain a problem. In 2003 only four of Cambodia's 12 Soviet-built ships were operational.

In 2005 China gave six patrol boats to Cambodia to bolster its ageing fleet, but it is still unclear exactly how many ships the country has in the water.

Momentum is building in Cambodia's petroleum sector after the US energy giant Chevron announced two years ago that it had struck oil in four of five wells dug in the waters off the country's southern coast.

More drilling is being considered for next year.

While Chevron confirms the presence of oil, the company has not released any data from Block A, one of six open to exploration in Cambodia's waters in the Gulf of Thailand.

But the sheer size of estimated deposits -- the government has tentatively put petroleum reserves in Block A alone at 700 million barrels -- has other internationals rushing into talks for exploration and production rights.

The government hopes to begin production by 2010.

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