Thailand’s PTTEP eyes greater oil exploration in Burma

Thursday, 17 January 2013 13:10 Gordon Brown

Thailand’s national oil and gas developer PTT Exploration & Production Pcl (PTTEP) is planning to raise and spend about US $12 billion abroad over the next five years on exploration, production and buying new assets, it says.

Of that amount, the company targets to invest about 20 percent in Southeast Asia and the bulk of that will be assigned to Burma, notably the Zawtika gas field in the Gulf of Martaban.

“More than $2 billion is planned for Myanmar [Burma], for Zawtika and also for exploration in our other block licenses and potential new ones,” a PTTEP executive said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Myanmar will continue to be a major source of gas for Thailand and this will certainly grow when the Zawtika field begins producing.”

Apart from the Zawtika field, PTTEP is carrying out exploratory surveys and drilling in three other offshore blocks, the M-3, M-7 and M-11, also in the Gulf of Martaban, plus two onshore blocks in central Burma in the Naypyitaw region.
The Zawtika field, with proven reserves of at least 1.7 trillion cubic feet, is due to deliver its first gas toward the end of 2013. It’s expected to initially produce 300 million cubic feet per day and 80 percent will be pumped to Thailand by a pipeline. The remainder is for Burma.

ွSource : http://www.mizzima.com/business/8747-thailands-pttep-eyes-greater-oil-exploration-in-burma.html