A government official announced yesterday that PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) remains on track to fulfill its agreement to explore Block XV in Kampong Thom province for oil, and denied reports by local media that the firm had filed a request to extend the exploratory drilling contract.
Meng Saktheara, secretary of state at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said that PVEP’s current timeline was intact and that the company will enter the third phase of is exploration campaign by January next year. In this new stage, the company will begin drilling test wells after having been conducting seismic and geological surveys for years.
“There has been no formal announcement of an extension and the company has not approached the ministry asking for one,” he said.
PVEP holds the exclusive rights to the onshore block since 2010. Its license is set to expire in 2018.
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