The Royal Thai Government’s (RTG) plans for a referendum on MoU44, a pact signed with Cambodia in 2001 for joint oil and gas exploration that has yielded no results over decades, has created uncertainty over $300 billion in offshore hydrocarbon reserves.
The annulment of MoU44 could stall bilateral negotiations on the OCA indefinitely, jeopardising Cambodia’s long-standing ambitions to monetise offshore hydrocarbons and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the energy sector.