BANGKOK, 2 May 2011 – The Ministry of Energy has suggested PTT plc to find alternative sources of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a large portion of global supply is being sent to Japan for its post-disaster power production.
According to Permanent Secretary for Energy Norkhun Sitthipong, Japan’s demand for oil and LNG for electricity generation has dramatically increased after its major nuclear power plants were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami disaster, resulting in a 30 percent cut to its total production capacity. As a consequence, Thailand’s negotiation for imports of LNG has become difficult as much of the supply by 62 LNG traders in the global market is being delivered to the disaster-stricken country.
The Energy Ministry thus instructed PTT to seek additional sources of LNG in order to ensure sufficient import within the set timeframe. The company was also ordered to expedite its exploration and production of natural gas, both domestically and abroad.
At present, Thailand deals with 6-7 LNG traders and is scheduled to import its first lot of 280,000 tons within this month. A total of 5 million tons are tentatively set to be brought in within this year in accordance with the first phase of the LNG import plan.
As for the second phase of another 5 million tons, the Ministry has resolved to reschedule the import from the year 2021 to 2017. The decision was made after the National Energy Policy Committee had postponed the construction of a nuclear power plant for three years and replaced it with three combined cycle power plants, each of which would be able to produce 800-1,000 megawatts of electricity but would also require 1 million tons of LNG per year.
