Gastech panel maps gas infrastructure path to energy security

Energy industry leaders at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok have called for greater predictability, flexibility and technological innovation in gas infrastructure as countries seek to strengthen energy security amid geopolitical uncertainty and volatile liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets.

Speaking during the panel “Building energy security: The global race to deliver gas infrastructure” on Wednesday (September 16), executives from Sempra Infrastructure, PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP), Bechtel, Chevron and Saipem discussed how long-term contracts, domestic production, better project planning and artificial intelligence (AI) could help secure future supply.

Predictability becomes central to LNG investment

Martin Hupka, President of Sempra Infrastructure’s LNG business line, noted that buyers were looking beyond price and placing greater value on control and certainty of supply.

“The most expensive molecule that you can ever try to buy is a molecule you can’t get,” Hupka told the panel, adding that developers also needed to choose the right engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partners, vendors and supply chains.

For major LNG developments, he stressed that careful preparation should not be sacrificed in the push for speed. “You may start fast, but you end way late because you didn’t put the time into being thoughtful at the onset,” he added.

Thailand seeks to sustain domestic gas supply

Kanita Sartwattayu, PTTEP’s CEO Designate and Acting Executive Vice President for Strategy, Business Development and Human Resources, focused on Thailand’s need to maximise domestic gas production to reduce exposure to LNG price movements. She noted that PTTEP supplies about 60% of the country’s gas consumption, while gas accounts for roughly 60% of electricity generation.

“We have to try our best to produce the domestic gas as much as possible,” Kanita told the panel. She added that PTTEP had produced about 5% more gas than it had committed to produce over the previous six months and highlighted Thailand’s domestic supply routes, including supplies from Myanmar and the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area, with LNG complementing those sources.

Kanita also warned that the country’s reliance on imported LNG could rise from about 30% now to around 70% within the next 10 years if domestic production could not be sustained.

She pointed to cost reduction, marginal-field development, technology and the reuse of offshore platforms as ways to support domestic supply, while noting the need to work with regulators and the government on commercial conditions.

For PTTEP, she concluded, execution was now the priority. “It’s time to act now and no time to talk, so we have to go through the execution to make things happen.”

Planning and AI shape project execution

Paul Marsden, President of Bechtel’s Energy global business unit, emphasised that infrastructure investment depended on confidence that supply would arrive on schedule and at an affordable price. He linked affordability and security to greater certainty across the value chain.

Marsden cautioned that compressed schedules could increase costs and execution risks if early decisions were weak, particularly when supply chains and skilled resources were constrained. “Projects die through indecision,” he warned, stressing that developers and contractors needed shared understanding and timely decisions without rushing into poor ones.

On AI, Marsden saw major scope to use the technology to process and review the tens of thousands of documents associated with LNG supply chains, allowing engineers to focus more on judgement and complex decisions. “The opportunity is massive with AI,” he noted.

Long-term contracts underpin energy security

Balaji Krishnamurthy, Managing Director of Chevron Australia and President, Australia, for Chevron’s Upstream organisation, underlined the role of long-term commercial certainty in supporting capital-intensive projects.

“Long-term contracts are more important than ever,” Krishnamurthy stressed, citing Australian LNG developments backed by long-term Japanese customers. He argued that energy security depended on both policy and commercial certainty over investment horizons that can stretch for decades.

Krishnamurthy also urged operators to make better use of existing infrastructure. He noted that Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone projects in Australia supply nearly 6.5% of the global LNG market and have achieved almost 10% more capacity than their original baseline design, while continued upstream investment was needed to keep LNG facilities supplied.

Looking more broadly at resilience, he added: “Diversity is going to equal energy security.” That meant diversity not only in energy sources but also in the infrastructure used to move energy to markets.

Flexible infrastructure supports future gas supply

Fabrizio Botta, Chief Operating Officer of Saipem’s Energy Carriers business line, argued that the industry should not frame security of supply and decarbonisation as competing objectives.

“The reality is that we need both, for sure,” Botta told the panel, arguing that future infrastructure needed to be more environmentally friendly while still providing redundancy and reliable access to supply.

He also highlighted modularisation and designs that can handle different gas compositions as ways to make projects faster and more adaptable. “Flexibility is fundamental for the facility that we’re going to build,” he added.

Botta noted that the industry was moving towards more balanced risk-sharing between clients and EPC contractors, while future expansion would increasingly involve brownfield work and phased additions to existing facilities.

AI moves deeper into gas operations

AI emerged as another major theme across the discussion, with speakers pointing to its potential to improve engineering, maintenance, safety and project execution.

Krishnamurthy explained that Chevron was already using drones and robotics for inspections and tank cleaning, while large language models and agentic AI were being developed to support diagnostics and troubleshooting. He noted that some workflows that previously took 24 to 48 hours could be completed in about an hour.

Botta outlined Saipem’s use of AI and digital tools for health and safety, including smart cameras and digitally enabled safety harnesses, as well as systems designed to identify manufacturing issues and improve supplier quality. He also linked AI with modular construction, which could reduce the number of workers required at a project site.

For Thailand, Kanita noted that PTTEP wanted AI and digital tools to handle more routine work so employees could concentrate on analysis and decision-making.

The panel closed with a common message that energy security would depend on a combination of timing, predictability, flexibility, diversity, innovation and disciplined execution across the gas value chain.