BANGKOK, Nov 8 — Two major oil producers in the Gulf of Thailand plan to resume operations after weather in the Gulf becomes clearer, said Puangthip Silpasart, director general of the Energy Ministry’s Mineral Fuels Department, on Saturday.
PTT Exploration and Production Plc and Chevron (Thailand) Ltd (PTTEP) earlier temporarily suspended operations in the Gulf following a warning by the Meteorological Department of heavy rain in southern Thailand for three days, starting Saturday.
Workers were asked to return ashore Friday for safety reasons and Chevron’s Erawan Field cut its daily natural gas production by 320 million cubic feet, according to Ms Puangthip.
However, Bongkot South gas field operated by PTTEP in the Gulf saw its production rise by 80 million cubic feet.
Although, the Erawan Field reduced its production during the short period, it would not affect the country’s energy situation, she said, adding that natural gas explorers have been told to closely monitor the weather situation by holding the safety of workers and the country’s energy security as priorities.
PTTEP said its workers are preparing to return to platforms “soon” to resume operations, while Chevron (Thailand) Ltd announced that two of its ships are preparing to return to Erawan Field.
Chevron (Thailand) said its workers would fly by helicopter to the platform and resume work early on Sunday.
