New natural gas field found
A new natural gas field which could be used for the production of electricity and natural gas for vehicles (NGVs) has been found in the northeastern province of Udon Thani, said Kurujit Nakornthap, director general of the Mineral Fuels Department.
A petroleum explorer near the Sin Phu Hom natural gas field in the province had informed that it had discovered the new natural gas field nearby and that it had told Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) so that the latter could amend its plan in its electricity production.
He said the PTT Exploration and Production has already announced that gas reserves at the Sin Phu Hom field could produce natural gas for at least 15 years and EGAT has asked for an extension to buy natural gas from PTT for another three years, ending in 2024.
To date, two commercial scale natural gas fields have been found in the northeastern region.
The first, in Nam Phong district of Khon Kaen province is now producing 10-15 million cubic feet per day compared to the 100 million cubic feet per day previously.
Kurujit said EGAT plans to construct a new electricity plant in substitution for Nam Phong electricity plant which would be used until 2024 as the demand for electricity in the northeast rises more than 4.5 per cent annually.
