PTT receives first LNG shipment from Qatar
PTT has received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a Qatari supplier under an agreement signed in 2012, said Pailin Chuchottaworn, president and chief executive of PTT.
He said Qatar Liquefied Gas Co Ltd (3) had delivered about 90,000 tonnes according to a long-term sales and purchase agreement to supply 2 million tonnes of LNG per annum, or about 280 million cubic feet per day, for the next 20 years.
The 2012 deal was PTT Group’s first long-term sales and purchase agreement for LNG.
Thailand’s demand for natural gas is increasing every year. It is the favoured fuel in the electricity-generating, industrial, petrochemical, and transport sectors, Pailin said.
However, the supply of natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar is on a downward trend. Therefore, LNG is an important alternative to support the nation’s energy demands.
PTT has imported LNG since 2011 through the spot market, with the import volume constantly growing – it has now reached 2 million tonnes per annum.
According to the Power Development Plan for 2010-2030, it is estimated that about 5 million tonnes of LNG will be imported this year. PTT LNG Co is in the process of doubling the capacity of its receiving terminal to be able to accommodate 10 million tonnes per annum, from the current 5 million tonnes per year. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2017.
PTT and Qatargas entered their first LNG sales and purchase agreement in 2011 in the form of a spot contract. The first LNG cargo was used to test the system designed at PTT’s first LNG receiving station (also the first in Asean) in Map Ta Phut, Rayong province. Later that year, LNG imports were used to substitute for gas missing from the pipeline system because of offshore problems.
This marked the start of good relations between the two companies.
Qatargas is the largest LNG producer and exporter in the world, with an annual production capacity of 77 million tonnes, equivalent to about 33 per cent of total worldwide LNG sales.
Qatar has total natural-gas reserves of about 900 trillion cubic feet, sufficient to support demand for more than 100 years.
PTT says its business alliance with Qatargas will strengthen Thailand’s energy security, ensuring that Thais will have sufficient energy resources long into the future.
