PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) plans to emphasise technology to further cut costs during an extended period of weak oil prices.
Kitisak Nualchanchai, executive vice-president of technology and sustainability development, said technology should allow it to be more efficient in production and precise in exploration, reducing waste in the process.
In the past, PTTEP allocated 3% of net profit for research and development (R&D) each year, which it believes helped lower its operating cost.
"We set a goal to be Asia's leading E&P [exploration and production] company in terms of cost effectiveness for the upcoming year," said Mr Kitisak.
Since mid-2014 when it adopted new technology, PTTEP has cut its average production cost to US$42 to $30 this June.
"We are moving in the right direction. We are dedicated to R&D to lower costs even further," he said.
In addition to cost reduction, technology has become indispensable as petroleum resources are harder to discover, said Mr Kitisak. New oil wells are in different geographical areas such as deep offshore sites, while shale gas and oil require new technology to make them viable commercially, he said.
The higher success rate of resource recovery is also a result of using new technology, said Mr Kitisak.
"We target our new investment in technology improving our success rate in petroleum discovery to 30% by 2020, up from an average of 20%," he said.
For example, PTTEP used a new technology called a dedicated processing centre (DPC) for exploration instead of utilising only seismic testing data, said Mr Kitisak. DPC processes data from seismic tests more precisely, resulting in more accurate location of petroleum resources and more production output from existing wells.
"We will use the new technology to increase the recovery factor in the petroleum reservoirs to 30% by 2031 from 17% currently at our Sirikit and Bongkot fields in the Gulf of Thailand and our petroleum wells in Algeria," he said.
The company also plans to reduce greenhouse gases in its production processes by 20% by 2020 using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and drones.
The plan to use drones and ROVs at its sites saves on costs and is safer for inspection work at underwater petroleum sites, said Mr Kitisak, avoiding the use of humans and helicopters.
"Data processed by machines produces less errors than humans do, so we can expect more precise data from ROVs and drones," he said.
PTTEP has collaborated with Kasetsart University, Chulalongkorn University and King Mongkut Institute of Technology Thonburi in developing ROVs.
The major petroleum resources of PTTEP are small reserves located in the Gulf of Thailand including the Arthit and Bongkot fields. The firm applied a new technology called a minimum facility platform (MFP), using bundling to maximise output from several small wells.
MFP was started in 2010 and 30 platforms using that technology are operating. Another 17 units are in development.
PTTEP shares closed Friday on the SET at 80.25 baht, down one baht, in trade worth 496 million baht.