Chevron Corp.'s (CVX)
Thailand
unit
has started natural gas production from the $3.1 billion Platong II project in
the
Gulf
of
Thailand
, the
company said Monday.
This will increase Thailand's domestic production by more than 10% and boost
Chevron's net natural gas output from the Gulf of Thailand, where it has been
operating for 30 years, by more than 20%.
"We will run the Platong II project at a capacity of 330 million standard
cubic feet a day [in line with] contractual obligations. And if PTT PCL
(PTT.TH) wants us to deliver more, we're ready to do so," Chevron Asia
South Managing Director Joseph Geagea told Dow Jones Newswires.
Platong II, in shallow water 200 kilometers from Thailand's southern coast, has
a maximum processing capacity of 420 mmscf/d. It is also expected to produce
18,000 barrels a day of natural gas liquids.
Chevron recently agreed with Thailand's Ministry of Energy to increase its
overall contracted quantity of natural gas by 500 mmscf/d to 1.2 billion by
2012 from company-operated offshore blocks 10, 11, 12 and 13. Platong II is
likely to be a major source for this.
California-based Chevron originally planned to start commercial gas production
at Platong II in 2012, but this was brought forward to meet rising energy
demand in
Thailand
.
Chevron's Thai subsidiary is the operator and holds a 69.8% stake in Platong
II. Other shareholders are Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., with 27.4%, and PTT
Exploration & Production PCL (PTTEP.TH), with 2.8%.
Apart from gas, in 2010 Chevron produced 70,000 barrels of crude oil and
condensate in
Thailand
.
Geagea said Chevron can supply an additional 170 mmscf/d of gas next year to
PTT by ramping up capacity at existing gas fields in
Thailand
.
Chevron Vice Chairman George Kirkland said in a statement to mark the startup
that
Asia
is becoming "the center of global energy
demand growth. Platong II is one of Chevron's many developments in the region
that will allow us to supply safe, reliable, and affordable energy to meet this
need."
Chevron still hopes to make an investment decision by the end of 2011 on a big
Vietnam
gas
project and is awaiting government approvals for an offshore project in
Cambodia
,
where it has drilled three successful wells.
The company plans before the end of December to start drilling its first
southern
China
exploration well, some 300 kilometers from
Hong Kong
, in
one of three offshore
China
blocks it acquired from Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) in 2010.
Other major Chevron projects in
Asia
include the joint development of a block covering nearly 2,000 square
kilometers in Chuandongbei in central
China
and
the offshore Indonesia Gendalo-Gehem project which Chevron previously costed at
between $6 billion and $8 billion.
t-fon �ml���^�mes New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black;
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EL;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>Iran
continues not to cooperate seriously nor to meet its obligations."
The European leaders reiterated the "commitment of the European Union to
work for a diplomatic solution of this issue."