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NEWS - Unocal to boost Thai natgas



Subject: NEWS - Unocal to boost Thai natgas investment

INTERVIEW-Unocal to boost Thai natgas investment

December 2, 1999

 By Ekarin Petsiri

 BANGKOK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Unocal Thailand, a unit of Unocal Corp, said
on
 Thursday it would invest another $125 to $150 million in its Thai
projects next
 year, mostly in natural gas exploration and production.

 "In Thailand, we have so far been a strong investor, having invested
over $200
 million in 1998, about 125 million this year, and next year somewhere
between
 $125 and $150 million," Randy Howard, Unocal Thailand president, told
Reuters.

 More would also be spent on an independent power generation project in
eastern
 province of Chonburi, a joint venture with the country's largest
refiner Thai Oil and
 U.S.-based Westinghouse, he said.

 The gas-fired power project has a planned generating capacity of 700
megawatts
 (MW) and would become operational by the end of this year.

 Currently, Unocal produces about 1.075 billion cubic feet per day of
natural gas
 and about 38,000 barrels of condensate from its 13 offshore fields in
the Gulf of
 Thailand.

 UNOCAL KEEPING UP WITH THAI PTT'S DEMAND

 "We are keeping up with the Petroleum Authority of Thailand's (PTT)
demand,"
 Howard said. PTT is the sole distributor of natural gas in Thailand and
buys
 Unocal's gas output.

 "We are pleased to see the Thai economy rebounding in the late half of
1999.
 We've seen PTT's natural gas demand increase 10 percent this year," he
added.

 "We will continue to see strong growth in 2000," he said, but declined
to
 elaborate.

 Howard added that the company's total natural gas reserves in the Gulf
was now
 about 10 trillion cubic feet.

 "But it continues to grow every year. When we started the business 20
years
 ago, we thought we had only two trillion cubic feet, but now we have 10
trillion," he
 said.

 In August, Unocal started up production from its offshore Pailin gas
field.
 Production was expected to reach 165 million cubic feet per day by the
fourth
 quarter.

 "That as well can be added to our reserves," he said.

 The company said in October it had also discovered crude oil for the
first time in
 Thailand in Yala 3 well, in the Pattani Basin in the southern part of
the Thai Gulf.

 "We are excited about it," Howard said.

 A feasibility study would be carried out early next year and the
company would drill
 six exploratory wells in the area. Results of the study should be known
around
 mid-year, he added.

 MYANMAR YADANA WORK CONTINUES

 Asked about Unocal's future plans in Myanmar, Howard said Unocal had no
plan
 for new investments there, but would continue with its existing
offshore Yadana
 gas project.

 "We abide by the (U.S government's) sanctions (on Myanmar). There will
be no
 new investment projects in Myanmar for the time being," he said. "But
we have a
 pre-existing project that we will continue to participate in."

 Unocal is the operator of Yadana, which was developed before the U.S
slapped
 sanctions on Myanmar, accusing its military government of widespread
human
 rights abuses and curbing democracy in the country.

 The Yadana field is operated by a consortium led by France's Total and
includes
 Thailand's PTTEP, a Myanmar partner and Unocal.

 The firm has come under much criticism for its involvement in Myanmar,
but has
 forged ahead with its involvement there nevertherless.

 Natural gas from the field is contracted to be supply to Thailand's
largest western
 Ratchaburi power plant, which is scheduled to commence operations in
the four
 quarter of 2000 and will consume about 525 million cubic feet of gas
per day.