PTTEP upbeat about sales despite Montara delay

PTTEP upbeat about sales despite Montara delay

PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP), Thailand's sole oil and gas explorer, has maintained its petroleum sales target this year at 310,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, a 13% increase from the previous year.

The goal was kept despite the delayed startup of the Montara project in Australia.

Chief financial officer Penchan Charikasem said yesterday she could not confirm whether the Montara field will be able to start even in the second quarter of this year, as this will depend on when the cyclones end.

PTTEP previously targeted to start production at its Montara field in Australia this quarter.

Its Zawtika project in Myanmar will be operational in 2014 while the oil sand project in Canada and the offshore Mozambique Rovuma project will start production in 2016.

"If the starting of the Montara field is delayed, the sales volume will definitely be affected, but we hope we can speed up operations in some areas to offset the loss," said Ms Penchan.

Production in areas such as Thailand's Sirikit 1 field can be sped up, she said.

The subsidiary of the energy giant PTT Plc is also seeking opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, but Ms Penchan did not disclose whether any decision will be made this year.

"If an M&A is to materialise, we would only focus on projects that have already started production or are nearly there, in order to minimise our risks and financial burdens," she said.

Potential projects must yield a minimum investment return of 12% and the focus areas will be in Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, North America and Africa.

"We need to explore as much as we can to maximise our reserves to support the need to increase production," said Ms Penchan.

Shares of PTTEP closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 156.50 baht, down 50 satang, in trade worth 531.14 million baht.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT