ConocoPhillips 2006 capital budget up 45%

Dec. 12, 2005
ConocoPhillips approved 2006 cash capital expenditures of $10 billion—45% more than it budgeted for 2005—with $6.3 billion allocated to exploration and production.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 12 -- ConocoPhillips approved 2006 cash capital expenditures of $10 billion—45% more than it budgeted for 2005—with $6.3 billion allocated to exploration and production.

Of the $6.9 billion in capital expenditures budgeted for 2005, $5.1 billion was for E&P. The company didn't report actual capital spending for 2005.

ConocoPhillips executives said the 2006 capital budget for refining and marketing is $3.5 billion, compared with a 2005 R&M capital budget of $1.6 billion.

ConocoPhillips plans next year to close on its purchase of a 275,000 b/d refinery in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, from Louis Dreyfus Energy Holdings Ltd. and the UK's Louis Dreyfus Refining and Marketing Ltd. (OGJ Online, Nov. 28, 2005).

As in 2005, the company budgeted $200 million in 2006 for emerging businesses and corporate expenses.

Of the 2006 E&P budget, about $1.8 billion will fund projects in the North Sea and West Africa. In the Asia Pacific region, ConocoPhillips plans to spend $1 billion.

It also plans to spend a combined $900 million on developments in the US Lower 48 and Latin America. The company allocated $800 million each to Alaska and Canada.