Corporate giants in the race for LNG shipper licence
At least three major companies -- PTT Plc, Siam Cement Group and EGCO Group -- as well as some smaller energy companies have filed for liquid natural gas (LNG) shipper licence, a news source at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) revealed on Monday.
“However, the ERC will not issue an LNG shipper licence at the moment, as it is waiting for the Energy Policy and Planning office to finalise policies related to the natural gas business, which is expected to be finished around the end of March,” the source added.
Meanwhile, Wuttikorn Stithit, PTT’s senior executive vice president of the gas business unit, said that PTT had filed for its second LNG shipper licence after it had received the first one for importing LNG to fuel domestic power plants.
“The second licence will be used to import and sell LNG for general markets, including both domestic and overseas customers,” he said.
“We have established gas separation plants overseas to facilitate the selling of LNG at regional level.
“PTT’s subsidiary, PTT Global Energy, which is a 50-50 joint venture between the parent company and PTT Exploration and Production Pcl, has been responsible for securing the group’s second LNG shipper licence,” he added.