Activists fight petroleum concession bids
Leading activists submitted petitions to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday to voice their opposition to the 21st round of bidding on petroleum exploration and production.
Panthep Puapongpan, a member of the People’s Alliance for Energy Reform, and Boonyeun Siridhamma, chairperson of the Federation of Consumers Organisation, wrote to the premier opposing the opening of the bidding and calling for the concession system to be changed to a production-sharing one.
He said the citizen groups wanted to remind Prayut of his promise on October 28, when he said he would abide by the resolution of the National Reform Council (NRC), which recently voted against the bidding.
"If the prime minister goes ahead with this, he will be betraying his own words," he said.
Panthep added that if the government went ahead, he would continue fighting against it because going ahead with exploration would be dangerous for the country.
Boonyeun, meanwhile, said the public was not against the bidding on exploration, it just wanted it to be postponed.
"We want to ask the PM if Thailand is suffering from energy shortage, because if we are short of energy, then we need to find the right resources. If we are only focusing on the monetary aspect, then eventually, it will be the concessionaires who dictate the policy, not Thailand," she said.
Boonyeun also pointed out that if the country only wanted to focus on the monetary aspect of the concession, then it would just be spending the same amount domestically as it would on imports.
"Also, granting a concession would put the concessionaire in place for a very long time. Besides, the concession will not solve the energy crisis, because some believe that we will run out of energy in the next eight or nine years," she said.
ML Kornkasiwat Kasemsri, director of Rangsit University’s Energy and Resources Policy Research Centre, reminded Prayut that the NRC has already issued a report focusing on the bad aspects of the concession system. Also, the pointed out, that granting a concession for exploration would affect national security because the operation will belong to the private sector.
"I will disclose new evidence about the concessionaire [system] on Friday at TSR Tower on Vibhavadi Road. It is important evidence that will help the prime minister make a decision," he promised.
Meanwhile, Itaboon Unwongsa, head of Consumer Right Protection Centre, said US Embassy’s charge d’affaires visited the Energy Ministry last Friday to ask about Thailand’s energy policy, despite the fact that the NRC voiced its opposition to the concession bidding last Monday.
"We’re afraid of the US getting involved in the energy [resources] in the Gulf of Thailand. Hence, the people’s sector is urging the government to regain its right as the owner of energy resources through a production-sharing system. Energy will certainly deplete if the concession scheme continues being used," he said.
