Chasing the public's acceptance
IMPLEMENTING the World Bank-sponsored Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standard is part of a package of the Energy Ministry's efforts to regain public acceptance.
Under the package, internal reorganisation is underway, as well as adoption of new technology to reach the public, in support of the ministry’s ultimate goal of ensuring energy security.0
“Public acceptance is the key goal,” said Twarath Sutabutr, deputy permanent secretary for energy. “We need to restore our image and enhance the immunity of Thailand’s energy sector. Corruption prevention is one thing that can win us the public’s trust.”
More than 40 resource-rich countries have joined the EITI, which requires extensive disclosure and measures to improve accountability in how oil, gas and minerals are governed. Each country is committed to publishing accounts showing all payments the government receives from its extractives sector.
Alongside these figures, public information about the licence holders, production data, state-owned enterprises and the allocation of revenues from its natural resources will be made.
To date, no Asean country has been compliant with EITI requirements. Myanmar last year was accepted as a “candidate” country, a year after the Philippines.
Indonesia’s “candidate” status was temporarily suspended in February for failure to meet the reporting deadline.
Thailand’s oil and gas resources have now been depleted following their discovery over three decades ago, but lack of trust has dampened the future exploration outlook.
The 21st petroleum-bidding round has been put off for months, while resistance to onshore exploration is high. Criticism is also apparently blocking the government from renewing the exploration contract for Chevron.
Twarath said Thailand had agreed in principle to join the initiative, but some details had to be worked out.
At present, the Energy Ministry supervises only the oil and gas sector, while mining is under the Industry Ministry’s supervision.
In the oil and gas sector, both the authorities and the private companies involved are ready.
The Mineral Fuels Department, meanwhile, is now working out details, which cover the audit of royalty fees received from concessions, investment expenditures, and shared revenue.
At present, 80 per cent of the revenue goes to the central government, and 20 per cent to local governments. While the proceeds going to the government are part of the annual budgets, it is unclear how the local governments spend the revenue.
“This will ensure clarity for the private sector and boost business efficiency. Meanwhile, this will clear us from criticism,” he said, explaining that it is difficult to compromise on the interests of various groups given the large size of the industry.
The deputy permanent secretary asserted that in order to win acceptance, constructive public engagement was also being highlighted.
The complaints-filing system is being upgraded to facilitate all types of complaints that could be filed against environmental-impact-assessment reports or province- and community-level energy plans, he added.
Twarath also acknowledged that the proliferation of social media had helped spur inaccurate information. To counter this, all information and statistics from various departments will be centralised and the public will be assured of easy-to-view presentations.
Communication channels will be extended to cover mobile applications, which will feed real-time data to the public. At present, this is implemented only in times of crisis.
Job segregation is also underway at the ministry. For example, the Mineral Fuels Department’s sole responsibility will be limited to the gas industry, while the Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department will take care of renewable energy and energy-conservation policies.
Meanwhile, the Energy Policy and Planning Office will oversee the overall picture of the power industry, working closely with the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The reorganisation follows the ministry’s strategy to synchronise five energy plans, covering power generation, energy efficiency, alternative energy, natural gas and oil.
While the number of departments will remain unchanged, some job positions may be added.
“This will take effect from the 2016 fiscal year [starting this October] onwards,” he said, adding that the integration will assure clarity in responsibility. In the past, some tasks have been delayed without an agency to directly take responsibility, leading to problems in regard to national policy, he acknowledged.
