By an OGJ correspondent
BANGKOK, Aug. 19 – Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production PLC (PTTEP) has cut its 2009 capital expenditures by 12%, or 16 billion baht ($470.58 million), to 120 billion baht to cope with the economic slowdown.
As a result, it reduced the number of wells to be drilled worldwide this year to 35 from 44, according to PTTEP Chief Executive Anon Sirisaengtaksin.
However, the company aims to maintain its targeted 2009 petroleum sales volume at 240,000 boe/d, and even in the “worst case” scenario does not expect the rate to miss the target by more than 3%, he said. PTTEP had sales of 232,957 boe/d in the second quarter.
The majority state-owned firm expects to boost its worldwide production by 25% over the next 4 years to 300,000 boe/d with incremental output coming from new fields, both domestic and international.
About 70-75% of the production would come from domestic fields and the rest from elsewhere.
PTTEP posted a second-quarter net profit of 6.5 billion baht, or 1.96 baht/share, down from 12.9 billion baht a year earlier, but up from 5.75 billion baht in the previous quarter.