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announced plans to use the current downturn in Low costs are now why the company is seek-
international oil and gas prices to snap up energy ing to expand, despite harbouring plans to cut
assets, highlighting both the near and far abroad this year’s capex budget of $4.61bn by 15-20%,
as of interest. or $691.5-922mn. The cuts were driven by a 28%
PTTEP has acquired a number of new oil and quarter-on-quarter contraction in net profit in
gas fields in recent years, both at home and over- January-March to $275mn.
seas, as it shores up its production figures in the
face of declining domestic potential. Since peak- If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
ing at 489,000 barrels per day in 2016, Thailand’s Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
oil production slowly declined to 477,000 bpd NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor.
in 2019, according to BP’s Statistical Review of
World Energy 2020. Aramco closes SABIC takeover
After unveiling plans to slash its capital Saudi national oil company (NOC) Saudi Ara-
expenditure budget in April, owing to the twin mco has closed its $69bn acquisition of a major-
pressures of collapsing oil prices and the coro- ity share in petrochemicals giant SABIC from
navirus (COVID-19) pandemic’s destruction of sovereign wealth fund PIF. That the transac-
demand, PTTEP believes now is the right time to tion was between two state-controlled entities
go bargain hunting. explains why it was able to go ahead despite the
PTTEP wants to open talks with financially market uncertainty. But Aramco, which now
troubled upstream players, company CEO and has private shareholders to consider, negotiated
president Phongsthorn Thavisin told the Bang- a longer payment schedule.
kok Post on June 19, adding that it was inter- By bringing SABIC’s vast petrochemicals
ested in assets in Southeast Asia and the Middle capacity into the fold, Aramco wants to develop
East. its downstream business into an effective hedge
He said: “We should not close our eyes to a against oil market volatility. But in the short term,
big chance in these regions. But if opportunity SABIC will be a financial burden. The company
emerges elsewhere, we must first make sure we has suffered two consecutive quarterly losses in
have prospective buyers [for our oil] in those a row, on weaker demand for petrochemicals in
regions.” Asia and excess global supply.
The company believes it can afford to splash Elsewhere, Nigeria is looking to build a new
out on new assets, having built up a sizeable war 200,000 bpd condensate refinery to ease reliance
chest in recent years while slashing operating on fuel imports, with a final investment decision
costs. Thavisin said PTTEP had $3bn of cash (FID) due to be taken on its first train before the
on hand and could also raise additional funding end of July, state-owned NNPC has said. The
should the right deal come along. country is also intending to repair and upgrade
The company has focused on cutting its cost its existing plants, but progress has been slow.
base in the years following the last oil price crash Meanwhile, a Dubai-based firm called Ecomar
in 2014. Indeed, Thavisin said in April that the has started up a new oil refinery in Fujairah, build-
company’s per unit costs amounted to $31.7 per ing on the UAE port’s status as a major hub for oil
barrel, noting that this was “low and competitive, trading, bunkering and storage. US contractor
compared with our peers”. KBR has teamed up with an Indian counterpart

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 25 24•June•2020