SAC urged to sue in pipelines row

An energy reform group is stepping up its campaign to pressure state energy giant PTT Plc and all those involved to complete the return of all the gas pipelines to the state.

In its latest push, the People’s Alliance for Energy Reform (PAER) will tomorrow ask the State Audit Commission (SAC) to take legal action against the prime minister, the finance minister, the energy ministry and the national oil and gas conglomerate over the delay.

PAER, which is led by Parnthep Pourpongpan and Rosana Tositrakul, accuses the four of breaching the auditing law and negligence of duty because they have failed to execute the SAC’s order. The alliance says the SAC has resolved that PTT must hand over all gas pipelines to the state. However, nine months have passed and nothing has been done.

A dispute as to whether PTT Plc has completed the asset handover has resurfaced from time to time. The energy reform group has been campaigning for the return of offshore natural gas pipeline land to the state in line with a 2007 ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). While the court ruled PTT’s 2001 initial public offering was legitimate, the pipelines which were laid down by the state before the partial privatisation are considered national assets and must be returned.

In 2008, the SAC ruled that PTT had given back all court-ruled assets to the Finance Ministry. However, the SAC recently claimed PTT returned only some of its onshore gas pipelines worth 16.1 billion baht. PAER argues false information was submitted the the court. The group also plans to file a lawsuit against individuals who allegedly provided false information to a court that all assets had been returned.

PAER is also calling on the public to oppose three draft ministerial regulations involving energy contracts and benefitsharing proposed by the Energy Ministry. The group says the regulations are against the public interest as they lean toward the existing the system of awarding concessions to private companies.