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To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (37632)	2/17/1999 8:11:00 AM
From: Box-By-The-Riviera™	Respond to of 95453

Wednesday February 17, 5:23 am Eastern Time Conoco expects much of its growth in Asia BANGKOK, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Conoco Inc president and chief executive Archie Dunham said on Wednesday he expects much of his firm's growth in the next five years to be in Asia. Dunham told a news conference that Conoco, which he said was the sixth largest U.S. oil company, was on track to meet its aim of boosting its market value to $30 billion by 2003 -- double the level of 1995. ''Much of our growth will occur in Asia,'' he said. ''To be sure Asia is overshadowed by economic and political difficulties at the moment, but we regard these as purely transitory. Long-term we see a very bright future.'' Dunham earlier told Reuters that Conoco, majority owned by U.S. chemicals giant Du Pont (NYSE:DD - news), hoped to invest up to $2 billion in upstream and downstream projects in the Asia-Pacific region over the next five years. While the region accounted at the moment for only one percent of Conoco's earnings, the company aimed to boost this figure to between five and 10 percent over the next five years, he told the news conference. Dunham was in Thailand to open a new retail outlet. He said the firm aimed to boost the number of its retail outlets, which combine gasoline stations with convenience stores, to 200 in five to 10 years and it had plans for a similar number in Malaysia. Dunham declined to reveal earnings figures for the company's Thai operations but said he hoped they would break even in 1999 or 2000. He said Conoco's operations were ''more than breaking even'' in the rest of the region. He said Conoco wanted to enlarge a gas project off Indonesia, which was serving Singapore. In addition, it had a ''very promising'' exploration block off Cambodia as well as blocks off Vietnam, he added. -- Bangkok Newsroom (662) 253-5000 Ext 415 -- e-mail: rtrburo@ksc15.th.com