Thursday, February 1, 2018
Hess Corporation released its 2018 E&P capital and exploratory budget which amounts to $2.1 billion, the same as 2017.While the majority of the company’s capex will be spent outside of Africa, one country will see a small percentage of it over 2018.
According to Hess, part of the production funds will go to its production operations in Libya, where Hess holds an 8.16% stake as a member of the Waha Oil Company. The Waha Oil Company operates 13 producing fields in the Sirte basin. Five large oil fields were discovered between 1958 and 1961 and production started in 1962. Production has been interrupted in recent years due to civil unrest, but resumed once again in 2017.
The majority of the 2018 budget allocates increased capital for continuing exploration and development activities offshore Guyana and for the Bakken, which includes growing the rig count from four rigs to six rigs. These increases are offset by lower capital allocated to the Gulf of Mexico and Malaysia compared to 2017.
“We are allocating approximately two thirds of our 2018 budget to our transformative investment opportunity in Guyana that continues to get bigger and better and to our low-cost position in the core of the Bakken, which together are expected to drive industry leading returns for Hess shareholders for many years to come,” CEO John Hess said. “Our 2018 budget is consistent with our strategy to grow our resource base in a capital disciplined manner, move down the cost curve so we are resilient in a low oil price environment, and be cash generative at a $50 per barrel Brent oil price post 2020. As a result of our disciplined portfolio reshaping efforts over the past year, we are extremely well positioned to fund and execute on our strategy.”
The $2.1 billion budget is allocated as follows: $1,170 million 56% for production, $555 million 26% for offshore developments and $375 million 18% for exploration and appraisal activities.
