BANGKOK, 26 June 2011 -The Ministry of Energy will convene an urgent meeting tomorrow to find a solution to the natural gas leak in the Gulf of Thailand after it was detected by the producer, PTT Plc Co. Ltd.
Permanent-Secretary for Energy Mr. Norkhun Sittipong said, following the incident which occurred yesterday evening, PTT had always been monitoring and trying to fix the leak as fast as it could.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has reportedly been advised to rely on other sources of energy in producing electricity. This approach has already been in the emergency plan of the Energy Ministry.
Mr. Norkhun further assured that this would not have any impact on the electricity production in the country and the supply of natural gas. Regarding the rising electricity cost due to the leak, he said the price regulator body would consider the matter.
PTT said 600 million cubic feet of natural gas had been leaking into the ocean per day. The gas being supplied to the EGAT will be reduced to 200 million cubic feet per day while the generator will turn to relying on oil as an alternative to natural gas to keep the electricity capacity stable.
