Cambodia's oil export ambitions sink with "stolen" tanker standoff

This handout photo taken on August 24, 2021 and received on August 25 from the Indonesian Navy shows the Bahamian-flagged MT. Strovolos near the Riau islands, as Indonesia's navy said it has seized the tanker and its crew who were wanted on charges of stealing nearly 300,000 barrels of crude oil from Cambodia's reserves. - AFP

PHNOM PENH/SINGAPORE, Aug 28 (Reuters): When Cambodian officials commemorated the start of the country's first oil project in June by preserving the first drops of production at a high profile ceremony, they heralded the country's emergence as a budding oil exporter at the heart of Asia.

But instead of reaping royalties, Cambodia's government has filed a theft complaint against the crew of the tanker that stored the crude, after they sailed away with the oil amid a payment dispute with the oil field's developer.