Bongkot, Erawan invites by next month, ministry says
Investors in oil and gas drilling in Thailand are expected to be invited to an auction for the concessions of the Bongkot and Erawan gas fields by March, says the Energy Ministry.
The auction will be separated into two contracts. The first one will be for Bongkot and the second one for Erawan, instead of the nine contracts at present.
Energy Minister Siri Jirapongphan said details for the auction will be finalised by the end of February and invitation cards will be sent to targeted investors.
He said the screening process will take roughly 3-6 months from March, and then the auction winner will be announced.
“We will invite as many investors as possible, with the requirement of daily gas production for a combined 1,500 standard million cubic feet per day, up from 2,100,” said Mr Siri.
The condition for this volume of gas production was made after consulting with oil and gas drilling analysts at the ministry.
Existing Bongkot and Erawan gas field contracts are scheduled to expiry over 202223, while gas production represents 40-45% of the country’s gas demand.
Mr Siri said the development of two coal-fired power plants in the South is still crucial because the country is heavily dependent on gas. Over 60% of electricity is generated by gas.
The Krabi coal-fired power plant is designed to generate 800 megawatts while the plant in Songkhla’s Thepha plant has been allotted a capacity of 2,000MW.
These two power plants are expected to start construction this year and begin operations in 2023-2024.
Mr Siri said relocating Thepha to an alternative site would require feasibility studies, but the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has been ordered by policymakers to improve the high-voltage transmission line (HVTL).
The improvement of the HVTL would connect the central gas-fired power plant in Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Khanom power plant to Phuket and Songkhla’s Chana Power Plant to Surat Thani.
Two power plants are still generating a combined 2,400MW, but actual electricity generation is lower than expectations because of HTVL limitations.
Under the National Power Development Plan (PDP 2015-36), a master plan for the schedule development of power plants, fuel, distribution and transmission lines, gas dependence will be lowered to 40-45% of power generation within 2036.
Protesters from local communities and environmental advocates have been lobbying against the coal-fired plants for years. Diversification of fuel in the power sector has failed since 2001, with plans for two coal-fired power plants in Prachuap Khiri Khan being scrapped.