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Published on September 11, 2007

The senior executive vice president of PTT's Gas Business Group, Chitrapong Kwangsukstith, said yesterday that the company was in talks with Qatar, Egypt and other African countries as it seeks substitutes.

However, he said, the company remained in a purchasing contract with Iran for the supply of 3 million tonnes of LNG a year. The LNG deliveries have been put off by six months from the end of 2010 due to a construction delay.

Meanwhile, Marut Maruekhathat, managing director of PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), a unit of PTT, said rising demand for natural gas had caused the company to rapidly procure more gas from several other sources. It will call for more gas to be quickly injected into the system from 2009 to 2012.

He added that during the wait for LNG from Iran, PTTEP would explore large natural gas fields in Bong Kot in the Gulf of Thailand, Burma and the Thailand-Malaysia joint development area. "Raising a large amount of natural gas for the system will need a few years' development," he said, adding that PTTEP would try to speed up gas supplies from every source.

He said the firm was waiting for a clear policy from the government to extend its concession period, from 2012 to 2022.

"If the concession is extended, there will be more natural gas from the Bong Kot field to the tune of 300 million to 400 million cubic feet a day, from the current 630 million a day," said Marut, adding that the extension would take about three years to generate production.

ENERGY REPORTERS, THE NATION