Unocal Corp. has moved to expand its energy resource operations in Southeast Asia.
It opened offices in Hanoi, Beijing, and Singapore to develop business opportunities from those bases.
"Southeast Asia is a major focus of Unocal's long term growth strategy," said John F. Imle Jr., Unocal president.
"Expanding our efforts to develop new business in the region is another step toward implementing that strategy," he said.
Imle pointed out that Unocal has long term operations in Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines that have anchored the company in the region for nearly 25 years.
Unocal has had operations in Southeast Asia since the early 1970s when it began oil and gas production in Indonesia's Attaka field.
"Our past capital expenditures in the region now total more than $3.6 billion, and we're looking at significantly expanding our operations in the next few years," Imle said.
CURRENT OPERATIONS
Imle noted Unocal is pursuing opportunities in petroleum and geothermal exploration and development and independent power generation throughout Southeast Asia.
In Viet Nam, Unocal Vietnam Ltd., a newly formed subsidiary, is negotiating a production sharing contract for Block B off Southwest Viet Nam. The tract is near offshore gas fields operated by Unocal Thailand.
Unocal also is interested in a number of other areas in Viet Nam, onshore and offshore. The company is prepared to bid as operator with several other companies and is exploring farmout possibilities.
Unocal China Ltd. is evaluating a number of China prospects. The company participated in a recent bid for an exploration license in the Bohai Gulf and has expressed interest in other prospects in the South and East China seas.
Singapore is the new regional headquarters for Unocal's business development activities in Asia under a new subsidiary, Unocal International Ventures Ltd.
Unocal also has a major interest in the Yadana natural gas development project in the Gulf of Martaban off Myanmar. After a gas sales contract is signed, construction can begin on a gas export pipeline from the field to the Thai border. Gas delivery from Yadana field could start as soon as 1998, with production peaking at about 650 MMcfd.
The company's natural gas production in the Gulf of Thailand is on the path to significant expansion.
In Indonesia, gross production from Unocal operated oil and gas fields off East Kalimantan is more than 100,000 b/d of oil and 250 MMcfd of gas. Recent discoveries and development drilling increased oil production from those fields by 41% from a year ago to the highest level in 13 years.
In addition, the Unocal operated Gunung Salak geothermal project on the island of Java supplies steam for 100,000 kw of power generating capacity. Further development could triple the size of the project.
In Philippines, Unocal has supplied geothermal energy from two fields to supply electricity to the Luzon grid for about 15 years.
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