THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Energy Ministry re-enters talks with Chevron over gas-field dispute

Energy Ministry re-enters talks with Chevron over gas-field dispute

The Energy Ministry said its decision to restart talks with Chevron over who should remove offshore gas platforms in the Gulf of Thailand will not affect the country’s energy security.

Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production Ltd decided to re-enter the arbitration process a year after breaking off talks to resolve a dispute over decommissioning of its assets in the Erawan gas field.

The company said it was seeking more transparency on the responsibility for removing platforms in the field before it is handed back to the government.

Last year, Thailand asked Chevron to pay decommissioning costs of around $1.5 billion before the field is handed back to PTT Group when Chevron’s concession comes to an end in April 2022.

PTT is planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in the field to handle 19 million tonnes of LNG per year.

Auttapol Rerkpiboon, CEO of PTT, said Thailand’s efficient energy management would ensure there were no shortages as the government, Chevron and PTT sought the best solution to the dispute.

Chevron lost out in the bidding for the new Erawan field concession to PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), won is planning to operate eight processing platforms by the middle of 2021.

The platforms will produce 800 million cubic metres of gas per day under a contract capped at a total Bt1.2 billion cu/m. The dispute concerns the decommissioning of 142 platforms.

The Energy Ministry has reduced its initial Bt1.5 billion estimate for decommissioning since some of the platforms will be useful to PTTEP’s operations.

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