Unocal to Boost Oil Production Off Thailand

Oil and natural gas producer Unocal Corp. plans to invest $75 million in oil production equipment over the next two years to double its crude output off the coast of Thailand.

El Segundo-based Unocal will increase production from its fields in the Gulf of Thailand to 40,000 barrels a day by mid-2005, said Randolph Howard, president of Unocal’s Thai unit. That would make it Thailand’s second-biggest crude producer.

“We have recovered more oil than we previously thought,” Howard said in Suphan Buri, west of Bangkok, where he was attending an oil conference. “We are more confident to spend money to increase oil production.”

The Thai government is encouraging Unocal and other oil companies to boost production in Thailand to help reduce the nation’s reliance on imports. The Southeast Asian country, which buys more than 90% of the oil it needs from abroad, also aims to become a regional oil trading center by 2008, competing with Singapore.

“The government will do everything to boost oil and gas supply from our domestic sources,” said Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej. “That will include giving more exploration contracts to increase the possibility of discovering new oil and gas reserves.”

ChevronTexaco Corp., Unocal and other oil companies in Thailand produced about 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day in June, according to data provided by the Department of Mineral Fuels. ChevronTexaco is the country’s biggest producer, accounting for about 60,000 barrels a day.

Unocal also plans to boost its natural gas production by about half by 2010 as accelerating economic growth means more of the fuel will be required for power generation, Howard said. The company produces about 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day, more than half the total supplied in Thailand.