Newsfeed

PTT Exploration and Production and its subsidiary PTTEP Australasia (Ashmor Cartier) say they are confident in the results of environmental studies and ready to prove that the damage claim made by the Indonesian government over the 2009 Montara oil spill is without merit. 
Regarding the report of confiscation of assets of PTTEP and PTTEP AA, both companies believe that such action could not be done according to applicable laws.
PTTEP president and chief executive officer Somporn Vongvuthipornchai said the two companies “have not officially received the lawsuit documents and have prepared readiness to defend and proceed with the legal case”. 
Currently, PTTEP Netherlands Holding Corperatie UA, a subsidiary of PTTEP, has one operating asset in Indonesia through holding an 11.5-per-cent interest in the Natuna Sea A Project. The project’s total sales volume of natural gas is approximately 224 million cubic feet per day with about 1,200 barrels per day of crude oil representing the net contribution of around 1 per cent to PTTEP’s total sales volume. 
PTTEP says it plans to keep investing in Indonesia. However, because of the current lawsuit, it has decided to suspend its investment decisions until a conclusion of the suit is forthcoming.

GOVT STICKS WITH GROWTH FORECAST
The government says it remains confident that gross domestic product will grow by 3.5-4 per cent this year even though the International Monetary Fund recently lowered its growth forecast for Thailand from 3.2 per cent to 3 per cent.
“We have continued confidence in the country’s economic growth as the government has continued to invest in infrastructure projects and exports have continued to grow. Tourism is also growing according to our estimates. At this time we do not have any changes from our early estimate,” Kobsak Pootrakool, vice minister in the office of the prime minister, said yesterday.

ASIA AVIATION REPORTS Q1 RESULTS
Asia Aviation (AAV), major shareholder of Thai AirAsia (TAA), announced its operational results for the first quarter of 2017, with total revenue of Bt9.15 billion and net profit of Bt570 million. 
The airline achieved a record load factor of 89 per cent, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier, with 4.85 million passengers carried, an 11-per-cent year-on-year increase, and higher than total seat capacity, which grew 9 per cent. 
Two aircraft, an Airbus A320 and Airbus A320 neo, have been delivered, contributing to a total fleet of 53 aircraft by the end of the quarter.
Tassapon Bijleveld, chief executive of AAV and TAA, said the airline continued with its existing plans with an emphasis on strengthening its interregional connections within Thailand, which experienced rapid growth. 
TAA launched two new routes during the quarter, daily flights from its U-tapao hub to Ubon Ratchathani and Phuket. Both were well received. The airline also increased the flight frequency from Don Mueang to Mandalay to two times daily.
Moreover, on April 21, TAA became Thailand’s first low-fare carrier to receive AOC (air operator’s certificate) re-certification based on International Civil Aviation Organisation standards after an evaluation by the Thai Civil Aviation Authority, affirming its global standard of services.