PTT certain Kingdom can deal with Myanmar gas supply suspension

Dr Pailin Chuchottaworn, president and chief executive officer of national oil and gas firm PTT, has outlined how the country’s electricity supply will cope between now and April 14 as it is affected by the shutdown of Myanmar’s Yadana gas field. The neighbouring country will stop delivering 1,100 million cubic feet of gas per day to Thailand during the period.

“Total of France, operator of the gas field, needs to stop production so that it can repair the production platform,” he said. “Usually, these kinds of facilities need maintenance work on an annual basis. This year, the shutdown period is slightly longer, totalling nine days instead of four or five. 

“There wouldn’t be any problem if it were only four to five days and they did the work during the long Songkran holidays when electricity use is significantly less [than usual].

“The government has launched a campaign to save energy [especially yesterday and next Tuesday and Wednesday] to boost the power reserve, which will be reduced by the lack of gas supply from Myanmar.

“PTT is responsible for securing supplies of other fuels, namely diesel, bunker oil and liquefied natural gas [LNG] for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to substitute for the daily shortage of 1,100 million cubic feet.

“We also have ensured that the gas left in hundreds of kilometres of transmission pipelines from offshore Myanmar to Thailand is properly recovered for use by electricity-generating plants.

“Second, we have diverted some natural gas from the Gulf of Thailand to help offset the shortage of gas from Myanmar. Third, we have imported LNG from abroad to boost the domestic supply.

“In addition, about 280 million litres of diesel fuel and bunker oil are now in storage tanks ready for use by the six electricity-generating plants that can use multiple fuels.

“Meanwhile, the shortage of Myanmar gas will also affect some motorists, because Gulf of Thailand gas, which has a higher heating value than the Myanmar gas, is not suitable for small vehicles. As a result, there will be a warning at natural-gas refilling stations in western provinces such as Ratchaburi.

“Regarding the electricity reserve, the minimum should be more than 700 megawatts because there could be blackouts or voltage fluctuations if there is a surge in power consumption or existing power plants are disrupted.

“The electricity agencies have sought cooperation from big factories such as those in the automotive industry to reduce power consumption on critical days by closing production lines or reducing output. This has helped boost the nationwide reserve to more than 1,000MW.

“However, the overall situation reflects the vulnerability of our energy security, largely because our dependence on natural gas as fuel for electricity generation is as high as 70 per cent of all the fuels used. By comparison, Malaysia, which produces lots of gas and exports it as LNG, has a more diversified source of fuels for power generation.

“For example, coal-fired power plants account for 30 per cent of Malaysia’s electricity generation, whereas Thailand’s coal-fired plants account for only 17 per cent. Hydropower, solar and other alternative and renewable fuels still account for small percentages of electricity generation.

“As the national oil and gas company, we have also invested in overseas energy sources to boost our national energy security. So far, there is no progress on negotiations to develop overlapped offshore areas of oil and gas fields in Thai-Cambodian waters.

“However, we have invested in Myanmar and as far away as Mozambique and Canada. Last year alone we invested as much as Bt90 billion overseas because indigenous sources are no longer available.

“We need to plan in advance to ensure that the country has sufficient energy sources at least over the next one decade. This measure is a moving average that we need to comply with to ensure long-term energy security.”