Unocal Corp. said it expects capital spending for 2001 of $1.5 to $1.6 billion, up slightly from the estimated $1.4 billion this year. The capital spending estimates do not include significant acquisition expenditures.
The company expects to spend about $425 million next year on projects in Thailand and Indonesia.
This includes development of the Pailin gas field and Yala oil field in the Gulf of Thailand and the West Seno oil field in the Makassar Strait offshore East Kalimantan.
Yala is the company's first oil field development in Thailand. About $70 million is earmarked for exploration drilling in the two countries.
The company expects to spend about $50 million for exploration drilling on deepwater prospects offshore Brazil and Gabon (West Africa).
Unocal expects that capital expenditures for North America will total about $930 million. This includes about $130 million for the Gulf of Mexico deepwater exploration drilling, more than double the 2000 spending level.
The company plans spending of $530 million for exploration and development projects on the Gulf of Mexico shelf and the Permian Basin (through Unocal's 65-percent owned Pure Resources, Inc., subsidiary).
These projects are expected to generate additional natural gas production volumes to take advantage of high commodity prices. The current NYMEX average price for 2001 is well over $5 per thousand cubic feet (mcf), compared with about $4 per mcf in 2000.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
