As figures are released, KeyFacts Energy will provide an ongoing review of oil and gas company capital expenditure plans for 2024, beginning with the following update:

Athabasca Oil

Athabasca Oil announced its 2024 budget focused on profitable production growth and strong free cash flow generation.

2024 Budget Highlights

Capital Program: Athabasca is planning capital expenditures of $175 million ($135 million Thermal Oil & $40 million Light Oil) with activity focused on completing the 28,000 bbl/d expansion project at Leismer, sustaining capital at Hangingstone and three Duvernay pads at Kaybob.

Profitable and Sustainable Growth: The Company plans to grow production to ~37,500 boe/d by year-end 2024, representing ~14% growth from year-end 2023. Annual production guidance is 35,000 – 36,000 boe/d (~98% Liquids). Growth will be weighted to the second half of the year with the Leismer expansion project expected to be completed mid-year and Duvernay production additions into the Fall. 

Cenovus

Cenovus Energy has announced its 2024 budget. Continuing with the growth plan embarked on in 2023, Cenovus expects to invest capital of between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion in 2024. This investment includes $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion of optimization and growth capital, primarily for progressing the West White Rose project as well as incrementally growing production at the Foster Creek, Christina Lake and Sunrise oil sands facilities. Additionally, Cenovus will implement further initiatives in its downstream business to improve reliability and increase margin capture as well as invest in opportunities in the Conventional business. Approximately $3.0 billion will be directed towards sustaining production and supporting continued safe and reliable operations.

Chevron

Chevron has announced an expected organic capital expenditure range of $15.5 to $16.5 billion for consolidated subsidiaries (capex) and an affiliate capital expenditure (affiliate capex) budget of approx. $3 billion for 2024.

Upstream spending in 2024 is expected to be about $14 billion. Of this planned expenditure, two-thirds is allocated to the United States, including approx. $6.5 billion to develop Chevron’s U.S. shale and tight portfolio, of which around $5 billion is planned for Permian Basin development. About 25 percent of U.S. upstream capex is planned for projects in the Gulf of Mexico, including the Anchor project, which is expected to achieve first oil in 2024.

Downstream capex is expected to be roughly $1.5 billion, with 80 percent allocated to the United States. Corporate and other capex is projected to be about $0.5 billion.

Included in the upstream and downstream budgets is approximately $2 billion in lower carbon capex to lower the carbon intensity of traditional operations and grow new energy business lines. Chevron’s Geismar renewable diesel expansion project is expected to start-up in 2024.

Nearly half of affiliate capex is planned for Tengizchevroil’s FGP / WPMP project in Kazakhstan and about a third is planned for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, including the Golden Triangle Polymer Project and Ras Laffan Petrochemical Project. WPMP field conversion is forecasted to begin start-up in the first half of 2024.

GeoPark

GeoPark has set a 2024 capital expenditures budget of $150-200 million, with approximately 20-30% to be allocated to exploration and 70-80% to be allocated to the development and delineation of high-potential, short-cycle and near-field projects in the Llanos basin in Colombia and in the Oriente basin in Ecuador.

Petrobras

Petrobras has unveiled its Strategic Plan for 2024-2028, under which investments of $102 billion are expected to made. This is a 31% increase over the previous plan. The $102 billion capital expenditure (CAPEX) is split into $91 billion for projects under implementation and $11 billion for projects under evaluation. CAPEX in the Exploration and Production (E&P) segment represents 72% of the total, followed by Refining, Transport and Marketing with 16%, Gas and Energy and Low Carbon with 9% and Corporate with 3%. The $73 billion E&P CAPEX will have 67% allocated to pre-salt projects. Petrobras will allocate $7.5 billion to exploration projects over the five years, with $3.1 billion for exploration in Brazil’s Equatorial Margin; $3.1 billion for exploration in its Southeast Basins; and $1.3 billion to other countries. This investment included the drilling of around 50 wells in areas where the company has exploration rights in acquired blocks. 

PTTEP

Thai oil and gas firm PTTEP has unveiled its 2024 investment plan and a total budget of around $6.72 billion. Of the total budget, around $4.3 billion is allocated for Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and around $2.4 billion for Operating Expenditure (OPEX). PTTEP is aiming to maximise production volume from existing assets in Thailand and Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area, and other overseas projects to boost Thailand’s energy security. For this, the company has set aside ~$3.2 billion. For exploration activities, PTTEP has allocated $220 million. The funds will be used for geological studies and the drilling of exploration as well as appraisal wells in Thailand, Malaysia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. The company is also accelerating key projects’ activities that are in the development phase, such as Lang Lebah field in Malaysia, other development projects in Malaysia, and Mozambique Area 1 Project, to achieve production start-up timelines as planned, with the allocated budget of $762 million for 2024. In 2024, PTTEP plans to invest $109 million in activities aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

The company also unveiled a five-year investment plan of $32.57 billion. For the next five years, PTTEP plans to start gas production from Abu Dhabi Offshore 2 Project in 2025 and gas production from Malaysia SK405B Project in 2027. Also, PTTEP expects to start gas production from Lang Lebah field in Malaysia SK410B Project, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production from Mozambique Area 1 Project and crude oil production from phase 2 of Algeria Hassi Bir Rekaiz project by 2028. 

Touchstone Exploration

For 2024, Touchstone's Board of Directors has approved an initial capital budget of $33 million to drill, complete and tie-in six wells, resulting in estimated annualized average daily production between 9,100 boe/d and 9,700 boe/d with a forecasted production mix of 82 percent natural gas and 18 percent crude oil and liquids.

Touchstone's initial 2024 drilling plan includes drilling two legacy property crude oil wells, two Cascadura development wells, one Coho development well and one Coho exploration well. Production growth is expected to be weighted in the fourth quarter of 2024, with two Cascadura wells expected to be drilled in the first half of the year and tied-in to the Cascadura plant prior to the end of the third quarter of 2024. The two Coho wells are expected to be drilled in the fourth quarter of 2024, and production additions from those wells are anticipated in the first quarter of 2025.

Using midpoint forecasted average production of 9,400 boe/d and a Brent Benchmark price of $75.00 for crude oil and liquids, Touchstone expects to generate approximately $32 million of funds flow from operations. Based on the approved capital budget of $33 million, Touchstone is forecasting to exit 2024 with a net debt of $25 million, resulting in a net debt to annual funds flow from operations ratio of 0.78 times.

Trillion Energy

Trillion is planning the following capital expenditures for the 2024. 

Capital Program Budget: 

KeyFacts Energy: CapEx news