PTT ready to plough Bt100bn into building depots

Nuttachat Charuchinda, chief operating officer for downstream petroleum business at PTT, said yesterday after a seminar titled “Energy Forum on Oil Risk Management” that the government’s policy to increase the nation’s strategic oil reserve from 43 days to 90 days would cost about Bt100 billion for oil-depot construction.
The increase in the reserve would amount to 50 million barrels of crude and refined oil.
He said the government would have to prepare for this by amending the existing law or by drafting a new one to endorse an operational unit to work out such details as locations of oil depots and investment models, which is expected to take a long time.
“PTT has proposed that the government invest in oil-depot construction. But the government, which would be an owner of the oil, could rent the depots in the long term from the company,” Nuttachat said.
“The difficulty is seeking appropriate locations for oil depots. The crude-oil depots should ideally be located near refineries. Sattahip could be the first choice, as there is not enough space in Map Ta Phut.” He said refined-oil depots should be located near pipelines.
The Energy Ministry hosted the seminar in cooperation with South Korea. The focus was on preparation for the nation’s strategic reserves with the aim of increasing national energy security and promoting future cooperation with Seoul.
Energy Ministry spokesman Kurujit Nakornthap said at the seminar that increasing the strategic oil reserve was in line with the current situation that the country has to rely on crude-oil import, accounting for 85 per cent of total oil secured.
“Thailand’s oil reserve is vulnerable when it comes to natural disasters and wars, which cause disruptions in oil supply,” he said.
 “Realising the significance of oil reserves, the ministry is now focusing on learning from countries with expertise in this area.
 “In hosting the event, we received great support from Korea National Oil Corporation and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy,” he said. Similar to Thailand as a country heavily dependent on the import of energy, South Korea has initiated policies regarding oil reserves over the past 20 years.
He said South Korea had developed systems for reserving oil on land and on the sea. In addition, Korea National Oil Corp had been set up with the purpose of efficiently managing the reserves. These ideas are interesting considering that Thailand is in the process of drafting regulations and selecting oil-reserve technologies that fit into the country’s economic, social and geological context.