US-based Unocal sets $1.6-B Asian investments

US-based power giant Unocal Corp. intends to pump in about $1.6 billion worth of fresh capital in Asia in the next two years, a ranking company official said over the weekend.

Unocal executive vice president Randolf Howard, in a CEO forum said the amount will include investment in an oil and gas exploration in Sulu Sea in the Philippines.

"We are excited in investment opportunities in Asia. Our commitment is not only in words, we will also help in finding solutions in the energy problems we are facing today," Howard said.

Recently, Unocal provided portion of the financing for the drilling of two back-to-back wells in Sulu with an estimated cost of $41 million.

Unocal leads the 12-member consortium, which holds Service Contract 41 for exploration and development of the Sulu Sea area. The Sulu wells contain about 260 million barrels of oil and another 600 billion cubic feet of gas.

Unocal has an existing presence in the Philippines through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Philippine Geothermal Inc. (PGI), one of the major geothermal developers in the country.

PGI signed a contract with the National Power Corp. (Napocor) in 1971 to explore and develop two major geothermal resources in Luzon. The projects, Tiwi and Makiling-Banahaw (Mak-Ban), supply 17 percent of the electricity in Luzon.

Unocal has presence in other countries in Asia such as Thailand, Myanmar, India and Vietnam.

At present, Thailand is Unocal’s primary gas-producing area outside the United States.

Unocal operates 100 platforms in the central Gulf of Thailand, supplying natural gas to generate 30 percent of that nation’s total power demand. Of the natural gas produced, more than 75 percent is used to generate electricity.

Unocal is also one of four developers of the Yadana natural gas field offshore Myanmar. With reserves of more than five trillion cubic feet (140 billion cubic meters) of natural gas, the Yadana field is a world-class energy resource.

Unocal has major investment in the Bangladesh energy sector, as partner to the Bangladesh government and Petrobangla, a major oil firm in the said country.

More so, Unocal is also currently looking at the possibility of participating in India’s gas pipeline project.

In Vietnam, Unocal started exploration projects in 1996. The natural gas discoveries in Vietnam can provide a long-term domestic energy supply and fuel the development of the Mekong Delta region with clean-burning gas.