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Published on February 27, 2008

Giving an overview of the group's LNG business yesterday, Michael Sangster, president and general manager of Total E&P Thailand, said it was the third-largest international oil firm in the LNG business with an approximate market share of 5 per cent.

It presently operates six LNG projects globally with a total capacity of 8.5 million tonnes per year. It is also developing three more projects in Yemen, Qatar and Angola with a combined annual production capacity of 19.5 million tonnes.

"We aim to grow by 13 per cent per year, while overall production in the market is expected to increase by 10 per cent. We therefore expect we will take up a bigger share of the global market in the future," Sangster said.

He said global LNG demand was predicted to rise 10 per cent a year.

LNG demand in North America will rise 25 per cent annually to 95 million tonnes and demand in Europe will surge 12 per cent to 115 million tonnes in 2015.

Sangster said Asian demand for LNG would also increase by 165 million tonnes in 2015 with an annual average growth of 5 per cent.

The group earned a net income of US$16.7 billion (Bt539 billion) last year, up 6 per cent from 2006.

Meanwhile, its investment last year surged 8 per cent to $16.1 billion.

Of that, it spent $12 billion on oil and gas exploration as well as on increasing global production.

It plans to set aside $19 billion for investment this year, of which more than half will be focused on upstream production and the rest will go towards expanding downstream and chemical businesses.

Total E&P Thailand holds 33.33 per cent in Bongkot, a joint-venture project. Bongkut is the largest gas field in the Kingdom with a gas production rate of 630 million square cubic feet per day.

PTT Exploration and Production has a 44.44-per-cent share in the project and British firm BG holds the remaining 22.22 per cent.

With a licence extension awarded last year, the project can continue its exploration and investment plan, which is aimed at maintaining current production levels of 600 MMscfd beyond 2012.

Sangster said one of the major projects due to be sanctioned midyear was the Greater Bongkot South (GBS). GBS will bring additional gas supplies of 350 MMscfd to the Kingdom in 2011.

He said the group had a strong commitment to Thailand. It is investing more than $100 million annually in the country.

Total's business in Thailand covers a full range of petroleum chain, from upstream oil and gas exploration and production to midstream power generation and to downstream - marketing, trading and petrochemicals.

The Total Group has formed three more local firms: Total Gas and Power Thailand, Total Oil (Thailand) and Atotech.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation