Swedish independent Lundin Petroleum AB has budgeted a total of $1.45 billion for development, appraisal, and exploration in 2015, marking a 31% decrease from its capital spending budget for last year.
Development projects in 2015 are expected to receive the bulk of this total—$980 million—which represents a 30% decrease in forecasted development expenditures in 2014.
Exploration activities, meanwhile, will command $320 million this year, 27% less than forecasts for exploration last year, and appraisal expenditure will cost $150 million in 2015, down 48% from forecasted 2014 appraisal expenditures.
About 77% of the 2015 budgeted development expenditure, or $750 million, is set aside for ongoing projects in Norway with the majority of the balance to be spent on the Bertam development in Malaysia.
By yearend, Lundin said, the Brynhild, Boyla, and Bertam development projects will be completed and will incur no further planned capital expenditure beyond 2015. Edvard Grieg, meanwhile, will see the development drilling campaign concluded in 2017.
Capex on Phase 1 for the Johan Sverdrup development will be confirmed at the time of submitting the plan of development in February and is thus not included in the current 2015 expenditure budget, Lundin said.