PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) expects its new investment in the Ghasha concession in the United Arab Emirates to increase its petroleum reserves, making them sufficient for sale for up to seven years.
The current reserves, mostly referring to oil and gas that can be drilled for production, allow the company to sell its petroleum products for six years.
Additional reserves came after the company's wholly-owned PTTEP Mena Co signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire a 10% stake in the Ghasha concession from Wintershall Dea Middle East GmbH, said Panporn Sasananan, senior vice-president for finance at PTTEP.
The Ghasha concession is a significant natural gas field located in shallow waters off the western coast of Abu Dhabi, with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co as the operator.
It encompasses nine petroleum fields where petroleum potential has been discovered. Some of these fields are currently in the development phase.
The Ghasha concession is set to produce more than 1.5 billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas before the end of 2030.
The project is a part of PTTEP's estimated total expenditure of US$6.72 billion, composed of capital expenditure and operating expenditure of $4.31 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.
In December last year, the company announced revisions to its capital and operating expenditure to adapt to the rapidly changing dynamics of global oil and gas demand and supply, as well as the broader global economy.
According to Ms Panporn, the Ghasha concession includes a pioneering development which aims to operate at net-zero emissions.
PTTEP earlier announced it had also teamed up with five companies from France and South Korea to produce green hydrogen in Oman.
Green hydrogen, which is used to fuel power generation and manufacturing processes, is produced by using electricity made from renewable energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.
In 2024, PTTEP expects its petroleum sales to decrease due to the maintenance programmes of petroleum production facilities in the Gulf of Thailand.