Soco cuts 2015 investment budget, reviews all assets

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LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Oil producer Soco International (LSE: SIA.L - news) , which came under fire for wanting to drill for oil in a national park in Congo, has reduced its 2015 investment budget by more than 60 percent from 2014 and is reviewing its entire asset portfolio.

Oil companies across the globe are scrambling to cut costs after a steep drop in oil prices and many firms have slashed investment, delayed projects and reduced staff.

Soco, whose operations focus on fields in Africa and Vietnam, set its 2015 capital expenditure budget at roughly $90 million, down from $161 million spent last year, the company said in a trading statement.

"In light of the current oil price environment, Soco's board is in the process of reviewing the company's overall portfolio of assets and carrying values," it said.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Soco opened 2.3 percent lower at 273.6 pence.

Fellow Africa-focused oil producer Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW.L - news) announced earlier this month it had cut 2015 investment by $200 million.

Soco also reduced its production forecast for this year, to reflect weaker output from some of its Vietnamese fields.

It now expects to produce between 10,500-12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), down from an average 2014 production level of 13,600 boepd.

Soco, which has licences to explore for oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Congo, agreed in June not to drill for oil in the DRC's Virunga National Park after complaints by environmental campaigners. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely and David Clarke (Toronto: CKI.TO - news) )