SET-listed oil and gas drilling firm PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) plans to reap profit from its fledgling new businesses, expecting them to account for 20% of total profit within 10 years.
Some new businesses operated by PTTEP's wholly-owned AI and Robotics Ventures Co (ARV) began to take shape last year while others, including a plan to co-launch a drone for agricultural purposes and a gas-fired power plant development project in Myanmar, are expected to see significant progress between 2021 and 2022.
Last year, PTTEP recorded a net profit of US$720 million, or around 22 billion baht, a decrease of 54% from the figure recorded for 2019.
PTTEP chief executive and president Phongsthorn Thavisin said ARV managed to launch an inspection-class autonomous underwater vehicle, a robot designed to inspect pipelines under sea, despite some hindrances caused by the lockdown measures.
The robot is able to tell when pipelines require maintenance and repairs to prevent accidents and reduce costs.
ARV also joined hands with Thai Com Plc to jointly develop a cost-effective and easy-to-use drone technology to help farmers identify problems or damage within vast tracts of farmland and to spray fertilisers and pesticides under the smart farming concept.
PTTEP is also pushing ahead with a gas-to-power project in Myanmar, currently undergoing a feasibility study.
A 600-megawatt gas-fired power plant project will be fuelled by gas from Zawtika Gas Block, or M3, operated by PTTEP. Once the plant starts operating, part of the power supply generated will feed metropolitan Rangoon.
PTTEP expects to sign a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Myanmar authorities by early next year.
This project was delayed by the impact of the pandemic and the ongoing political conflict in Myanmar, but its development will continue.