Soco hikes 2015 output guidance. Lowers forecast for 2016

Soco International, an independent oil company with assets in Vietnam and Congo, has upgraded its production guidance for the full year 2015, but it has also provided a lower preliminary guidance for 2016. The company’s shares fell 18.6 percent following the announcement.

In an update on Tuesday, the company said that full-year guidance is revised to 11.8 – 12 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd), from 11 -12 kboepd.  The reason for the upgrade is the earlier than originally expected start-up of the H5 platform at Te Giac Trang (“TGT”) field offshore Vietnam, in August.

Soco said, however, that the H5 platform is producing at around 9 thousand barrels of oil per day, below expectations and the initial levels of around 11-12 thousand barrels per day.

Additional H5 production potential exists in unperforated intervals, with the scope of such perforations expected to be defined in the revised Field Development Plan, the company said.

The TGT field is operated by HLJOC, a state-owned partnership between PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corp., SOCO Vietnam Ltd., OPECO Vietnam Ltd and PTT Exploration and Production Co. Ltd.

2016 guidance at lower end

As for the production guidance for 2016, SOCO set a preliminary guidance at 10-11.500 thousand of oil equivalent per day.

“The lower end reflects no new wells and natural field decline and the upper end reflects optimised reservoir management and limited production from additional wells drilled in 2016. This guidance is preliminary and will be refined with the (TGT) FDP and agreement of reservoir management measures for 2016,” Soco said in a statement.

Offshore Energy Today Staff