The full field came online in February after a first well began producing in December, but rates were so low that by April it told shareholders its planned company restructuring was "no longer viable". It is listed on Singapore's stock exchange.
In early April it reported production from the country's first offshore oil well came to 2493 barrels of oil per day, and the average gross production rate for the field from February 23 to March 30 totalled 2883bopd - well short of the pre-development estimate of 7500bopd.
By early April, Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy, which owns a 5% stake in the venture, demanded KrisEnergy explain itself.
General Department of Petroleum director general Cheap Sour had been hoping success at the field would drive more investment into the nation's non-existent hydrocarbon sector and pull new revenue into state coffers at a time when the nation's biggest money earner, tourism site Ankgor Wat, was out of action due to COVID-19 restrictions.
However Kris told the market yesterday the independent assessment found low production is down to "significantly lower volume of hydrocarbon-in-place connected to the wells and the geological complexity resulting in smaller oil accumulations".
NSAI, which certifies resources and reserves estimates for many Australian companies, suggested performance data showed pressure depletion was the main recovery mechanism and there was no proof of water support. Formation damage in oil bearing zones could also have hit productivity.
Remedial action will likely have no impact.
Despite a rising oil price the poor performance will hit revenue hard meaning Kris may struggle to service its project financing loan from Kepinvest Singapore, among other obligations.
It had about US$480 million in debt in August but has since offloaded several assets to bring in a much-needed bump in revenue.
The company's revolving credit facility with DBS Bank will mature on June 30 and further extension of the maturity date to June 30 2024 is subject to conditions, including the completion of all elements of the restructuring exercise.
The first deadline was due on March 31, but the company was granted an extension to April 16, which it has missed.
