Oil and gas high hopes for reserves in Northeast
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Khon Kaen, Udon Thani lead, Korat holds promise
The Mineral Fuels Department of the Energy Ministry is hopeful that the Northeastern provinces, especially Khon Kaen and Udon Thani, will be proved to hold gas reserves of as much as 2 trillion to 3 trillion cubic feet per block.
“The northeastern part of the country has the potential to contain oil and natural-gas resources,” the department’s director-general Songphop Polachan said.
Thai Petroplus, a newcomer in the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) industry, said it owned Block L37, an exploration site in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Thong Chai district, which is expected to yield 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day for 90 years.
The expected size is bigger than the S1 block in Kamphaeng Phet operated by PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), which, with production capacity of 26,000boe/d, is now the largest petroleum-production site in the country.
But Songphop said that so far there was no proof Nakhon Ratchasima has oil and gas reserves that can compare to the S1 block.
The department will open the 21st round of bidding on petroleum concessions late in the first quarter of next year. The round will cover 21 wells, both offshore and onshore. For onshore exploration, there will be 10 wells in the Northeast and six in the Central region. The remaining five wells will be in the Gulf of Thailand.
The 10 wells in the Northeast will be in many provinces with potential such as Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Kalasin and Nakhon Ratchasima.
“Now we can produce natural gas from the Nam Phong gas field in Khon Kaen. But there is no concrete evidence there will be a site that can produce petroleum of up to 30,000boe/d. The forecast depends on the evaluation of each company,” Songphop said.
The department is waiting for the results of Block 28/48 or the Ratana-1 well in Khon Kaen operated by PTTEP, and wells in Udon Thani explored by US-based Tatex.
“We hope that these wells can show reserves of about 2 trillion to 3 trillion cubic feet each. If PTTEP and Tatex are successful in exploring these sites, we are optimistic that the Northeast can supply the country petroleum in the long term,”
he said.
Investment in petroleum E&P in Thailand from 2006 to last year amounted to Bt1.3 trillion. Last year alone, investment was Bt145 billion.
