PTT unveils Bt1.54 tn war chest 

The energy group’s operations are conducted by six companies: PTT Plc, PTT Exploration and Production Plc, PTT Global Chemical Plc, Thai Oil Plc, IRPC Plc and Global Power Synergy Plc.

PTT Plc’s president and chief executive officer, Tevin Vongvanich, said at a group press conference late on Wednesday that PTT Plc alone has a five-year investment plan worth Bt585 billion for 2018-22.

This budget is separated into two categories. The first portion of Bt340 billion is earmarked for investments tied to existing business plans. An example is the budgeted Bt130 billion of this amount to be spent on investments in PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc, which need funds to buy some assets from PTT Plc. The remainder of the Bt340 billion allocation – at Bt210 billion – will be put to investments for PTT Plc’s business. 

Under the second category, Bt245 billion will be spent on investments in potential businesses and new businesses as determined by the opportunities that arise, Tevin said.

 “We cannot say what we will spend the Bt245 billion on at this time but this budget prepares us for a new business model within five years,” he said.

PTT Exploration and Production Plc has set aside an investment budget that averages US$3.1 billion (Bt99.2 billion) a year. Some US$1.8 billion will go to capital expenditure, which is funds used by a company to acquire, upgrade, and maintain physical assets such as property, industrial buildings or equipment. Some US$1.33 billion will support investment in new businesses, the company’s chief executive officer Somporn Vongvuthipornchai said.

A must for its investment is for the company to join the bidding for the management of the Bongkot and Erawan gas and condensate fields, which may be open to bidding this year, he said.

Somporn said the company also planned to expand its investment in Southeast Asia, such as in Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, and to explore opportunities in the Middle East. “Up to 90 per cent of our investment overseas will focus on Southeast Asia,” he said.

PTT Global Chemical Plc is also expanding its investments over the target period, to the tune of Bt250 billion. The funds will be used to increase its production capacity of polyethylene and to invest in downstream products, especially high-quality plastic, the company’s president and chief executive officer, Supattanapong Punmeechaow, said.

Thai Oil Plc’s president and chief executive officer Atikom Terbsiri said the company will invest to increase its oil production from 275,000 barrels per day to 400,000 barrels.

Meanwhile, the company plans to upgrade and expand its production capacity to produce high-value oil such as jet oil and ship oil. It is also studying how to produce a clean fuel project (CFP), and a decision on such a project may be finalised in October.

Under its business plan, the company has set aside an investment budget of US$150 million for 2018-19. For 2020-22, it is putting aside investment funds of about US$4 billion subject to the final decision of the company’s board on whether to proceed with the CFP project, he said. IRPC Plc’s president Sukrit Surabotsopon said that the company has earmarked an average of Bt2 billion a year for maintenance needs and to develop new products.

The company is looking into a project, called MARS, to produce an aromatic product with output of up to 1.3 million tonnes a year. If the board approves the project, it will invest up to Bt50 billion, for an average outlay of Bt10 billion a year on the project, Sukrit said.

Global Power Synergy Plc has set aside an investment budget of Bt28.63 billion for opportunities in alternative energy businesses, with a focus on energy storage and alternative electricity sources, the company’s president and chief executive officer Toemchai Bunnag said.

Tevin added that all of the group businesses will expand their investments to focus on both existing and innovative new products to improve efficiencies and sustain strong growth over the long term.

 “Our business expansion comes under the concept of 3D. The first is Do Now, to improve productivity and efficiency; the next is Decide Now, relating to decisions that support business growth and for expansion into new businesses. The last D is Design Now, which refers to the use of new technology and innovative products to ensure business growth for the long term,” Tevin said.