Bangkok – The Ministry of Energy says it has full confidence in PTT Public Company Limited to continue operating in the Gulf of Thailand, after the state-owned company won bids for major petroleum concessions.
The comment was made by Energy Minister Siri Jirapongphan who earlier announced that PTT had won the petroleum production and development rights for both the Bongkot and Erawan gas fields.
Together the fields have a combined output of 2.1 billion cubic feet a day of gas he said, adding that the concessions require the operators to maintain minimum daily volumes of gas at 800 million and 700 million cubic feet respectively, from the Erawan and Bongkot fields.
The government will take 68 percent of the production profits from Erawan and 70 percent from Bongkot, according to the energy ministry.
In the meantime, PTT says the company is committed to delivering sufficient gas to the nation. With 20 years of experience in operating the Bongkot field, and as a joint venture partner in the Contract 3 project, which covers the major area of the Erawan field, PTT has accumulated a sound technical understanding of both areas.
The Bongkot and Erawan gas fields are considered vital indigenous sources of energy for Thailand, with a combined natural gas production that accounts for 60 percent of total domestic requirement.