Spreading wings: PTTEP set to extend global footprint.
PTTEP looks to second quarter rebound
Thailand’s PTTEP said higher sales and product prices are driving a second quarter rebound after a dismal start to the year, and the company is hunting for new projects.
"The second quarter is looking much better than the last quarter," PTTEP’s chief executive, Anon Sirisaengtaksin told Reuters in an interview today.
"The first quarter will be the worst for us this year. From this point on, there should be a pick-up in demand," he said.
Anon said PTTEP's average selling prices were up in the second quarter, but he did not give a figure. With the global economy still struggling to recover, Anon expected the selling price to average $36 a barrel for the full year, down from $49.69 a barrel in 2008.
He said natural gas consumption had picked up in the second quarter, but he expected "zero growth" for the entire year.
PTTEP, Thailand's second largest listed company after its parent PTT, is sitting on about 50 billion baht ($1.5 billion) in cash and is looking to take advantage of the turmoil in world energy markets and seek new projects in Australia, Indonesia and other parts of Asia.
"We're looking for more assets that fit with our long term strategies," Anon said, without giving details.
PTTEP is partnering with Norway's Golar Liquefied Natural Gas to develop a floating liquefied natural gas project in the Cash-Maple field in the Timor Sea, once operated by Australia's Coogee Resources.
"It is a 50:50 joint investment and we expect it to produce one to two million tonnes of LNG a year, starting in 2014," Anon said.