Bongkot Sales Drive PTTEP 1Q Profit Growth (Thailand)

Thailand’s oil company PTTEP today revealed its  first quarter Operating Results and the company performance.

1st Quarter Operating Results (Unreviewed): Net profit of USD 680 million, an increase of 15%

The company and its subsidiaries posted a net profit of USD 680 million (equivalent to 20,258 million baht), an increase of USD 91 million or 15% against the first quarter of 2012, which was USD 589 million (equivalent to 18,288 million baht). The first quarter of 2013 comprised of the recurring net profit for this period amounted to USD 585 million, and the gain from non-recurring items amounted to USD 95 million.

In this quarter, the total revenue of PTTEP and its subsidiaries was USD 1,907million (equivalent to 56,824 million baht), an increase of USD 280 million or 17% against the first quarter of 2012 which was USD 1,627 million (equivalent to 50,448 million baht).The increase was the result of a higher average sales volume in the first quarter of 2013, which increased to 291,476 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOED) against the first quarter of 2012 which was 253,411 BOED. This increase of sales volume was the result of Bongkot project’s increasing sales volume from Greater Bongkot South and Greater Bongkot North that has higher nomination against the first quarter of 2012, together with an addition of increased crude oil sales volume from S1 project and Vietnam 16-1 project. Consist of higher average petroleum sales price, which rose to USD 67.03 per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) against the first quarter of 2012 which was USD 64.79 per BOE.

PTTEP Performance following the business strategic can be summarized by main projects as follow:

The Exploration: Myanmar M3 & M11 Project is under progress of the exploration period extension to prove the commerciality, whilst M11 deep water block is in preparation process for an exploration well and expected to be drilled in late 2013.   Myanmar PSC G & EP 2 Project has begun conducting the 2D seismic acquisitions for the both blocks.   The Alegria Hassi Bir Rekaiz Project’s first exploration phase has completed with successful discovery of crude oil and natural gas from seven out of total nine exploration wells, while one well (ROS-1) is drilled and in process of flow testing.   Canada Oil Sands KKD Project has completed Winter Evaluation Program (WEP) for 2012-2013 and completed seismic studies in Leismer, Corner, and Thornbury areas. In early April, Orca-1 exploration well in the Mozambique Rovuma Offshore Area 1 Project was successfully drilled and encountered approximately 190 net feet (58 meters) of natural gas in a Paleocene fan system. The operator is designing an initial two-well appraisal program to define the areal extent of the Orca field.

The Development: Australasia Project, Montara field, is currently under preparation for production which expected to commence in the second quarter of 2013 with 1 additional production well. For the compensation claim due to 2009’s oil spill, PTTEP has received the total USD 212 million as of the first quarter of 2013. Remaining claims are in progress. The Zawtika Project has completed 3 wellhead platforms and intra-field pipeline construction. The Algeria 433A & 416B project completed drilling 4 out of 12 production wells according to initial plan and the approximate flow rate of crude oil is more than 1,500 BPD. The constructions of processing and pipeline facilities, as well as the construction of the living quarter and utility facilities are ongoing process.   Mozambique Rovuma Offshore Area 1 Project is currently progressing with the offshore development activities as well as the planning of onshore liquefaction facilities construction.

The Production: Bongkot Project, North and South field, stood at 900 MMSCFD, which represents about 20% of Thailand natural gas demand. The S1 Project has reached highest record of production level, since the inception of the project, at 37,890 BPD as of February 25, 2013.   Average crude oil production level in this quarter 2013 stood at 33,616 BPD. The Leismer area of Canada Oil Sands KKD Project has average bitumen production rate at approximately 14,680 BPD in this quarter. In February, the project began the drilling in preparation for the production of Well Pad 5 which planned to be start-up in December 2013 in order to reach the expected production level of 20,000 BPD. Natural gas production of the MTJDA-B17 Project had temporarily stopped in late 2012 to early 2013 due to pipeline repair. The Production fully resumed in early February 2013 at the rate of 363 MMSCFD. The average production for the first quarter of 2013 stood at 269 MMSCFD.

For the Yadana Project, production had temporarily stopped during April 5-12, 2013 due to the hook-up, commissioning, and flare platform’s bridge removal and installation. The production fully resumed on April 12, 2013 with zero negative effect on Thailand’s domestic energy consumption.