Angkor Resources Corp. announced on September 30, 2026, that Cambodia's Ministry of Environment has granted final approval for its wholly owned subsidiary, EnerCam Resources Co., Ltd., to drill exploratory wells on four sub-basins of the Block VIII onshore oil and gas concession in southwest Cambodia. The approval, reported by NEWMEDIAWIRE, marks a critical regulatory step for a project that could become the first privately financed onshore oil and gas drilling program in the Kingdom.
The approval covers the Kirirom, Bokor North, Bokor Central, and Bokor South sub-basins, which span Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, and Kampong Speu provinces. EnerCam and its independent Cambodian consultant, Green Assessment Co., Ltd., took the Environmental Impact Assessment and drilling permit through an inter-ministerial review 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 such as downhole logging and well operations.
The significance of this approval extends beyond regulatory procedure. As Cambodia imports 100% of its hydrocarbon-based energy products, discovering a domestic supply of oil and gas remains a high priority for the Kingdom. EnerCam's program would be the first privately financed onshore drilling for oil and gas in Cambodia, and a discovery would begin to offset what the Kingdom currently spends importing hydrocarbon energy. The approval also sets a precedent for how onshore drilling gets done in Cambodia as the sector develops, according to Mike Weeks, President of EnerCam.
Weeks 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 contemplates one exploration well in each of the four sub-basins, followed by a fifth well located on the results of those wells under a Production Sharing Contract. 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. An outline of the block with the four identified sub-basins representing five planned drill targets is available in Figure 1.
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 undertaken its own due diligence on several potential drilling contractors to expedite the process. The 70+ page tender document is reviewed and approved by the Ministry before publication. Once a drilling contractor is engaged, mobilizing the drilling equipment to the sites takes approximately three months.
For investors, the approval reduces regulatory risk and positions EnerCam to move quickly toward drilling. The company will continue providing updates on the drill program, drilling contractors, and well-planning progress at regular intervals. More information about Angkor Resources is available at resources.com.
