Botten: Oil Search not cutting costs on programmes

OIL Search Ltd managing director Peter Botten says the company will not cut back on spending on its social responsibility activities.
Botten said the company might cut back on its exploration activities given the drop in global oil prices, however, the situation will not affect Oil Search community and people responsibilities. “We must bring our landowners and community expectations along with us,” he said during Leaders’
Summit last Thursday in Port Moresby.
“What we are not cutting, as a company, is actually around some of the key social areas, that underpins our operating stability into the future. We might be cutting back a little bit on exploration because we want to preserve that cash, but we are not cutting back on the social programmes and the key programmes that drive the benefits of PNG LNG and all other projects beyond and across the country.”
In the Oil Search quarterly report to last Dec 31, Botten said: “Given the material and rapid downturn in oil prices in recent months, the company is carrying out a comprehensive review of impairment across all its assets.
“The company is reviewing the outcomes of the recent strategic review, in order to prioritise investment and drive cost and capital efficiency throughout the business.
“No changes to the core strategic direction are anticipated, with the company focusing on the delivery of PNG LNG expansion and development of the Elk/Antelope fields,” he said