Angkor Resources Corp. announced on September 30, 2026, that its wholly owned Cambodian energy subsidiary, EnerCam Resources Co., Ltd., has received final approval from Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment to drill exploratory wells on four sub-basins of the Block VIII onshore oil and gas concession in southwest Cambodia. The approval, reported via NEWMEDIAWIRE, marks a critical step in what would be Cambodia’s first privately financed onshore oil and gas drilling program.
The Ministry of Environment’s approval covers drilling on the Kirirom, Bokor North, Bokor Central, and Bokor South sub-basins, which span Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, and Kampong Speu provinces. The decision follows an inter-ministerial review of the Environmental Impact Assessment and drilling permit held in Phnom Penh on July 14, 2026, attended by more than 26 representatives from five government ministries and three provinces. With the EIA approved, EnerCam now advances to the Ministry of Mines and Energy with applications covering specific drilling components, including downhole logging and well operations.
Mike Weeks, President of EnerCam, commented: “With approval now in hand on all four sub-basins, we move to the Ministry of Mines and Energy on the individual components of the drilling program, and that includes the well logging and the downhole tools. The Ministry of Environment went through this in detail with us – how each site is drilled, how the water and drilling fluid are handled, and how the land is restored if a well is not productive. It has been a thorough process with the Ministries and with the communities where we will be working, and it sets a precedent for how onshore drilling gets done in Cambodia as the sector develops.”
EnerCam has completed 350 line-kilometers of 2D seismic and defined drill targets across the four sub-basins. The company’s 4+1 drill program envisions one exploration well in each sub-basin, followed by a fifth well located based on the results of those wells under a Production Sharing Contract. A visual outline of Block VIII with the four identified sub-basins representing five planned drill targets is available Figure 1 Outline of Block VIII with four identified sub-basins representing five planned drill targets, called 4+1 leaving the fifth well location to be determined after drilling the first four..
Drilling contractors will be selected through a tendered bid that is first approved by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and then published in various media outlets. EnerCam has already completed due diligence on several potential drilling contractors to expedite the process. The 70+ page tender document must be reviewed and approved by the Ministry before publication. Once a contractor is engaged, mobilizing drilling equipment to the sites takes approximately three months.
The approval holds significant implications for Cambodia, which imports 100% of its hydrocarbon-based energy products. Discovering a domestic supply of oil and gas remains a high priority for the Kingdom, and a discovery could begin to offset the country’s spending on hydrocarbon imports. Block VIII covers approximately 4,095 square kilometers in the southwest quadrant of Cambodia under a 30-year Production Sharing Contract with the Royal Government of Cambodia. EnerCam continues to advance oil and gas exploration activities onshore to meet its mission to prove Cambodia as a nation with its own oil and gas resources. Further updates on the drill program, drilling contractors, and well-planning progress are expected at regular intervals.
