Govt mulls NRC vote on oil concession bid

The government is undecided whether to heed the National Reform Council’s (NRC) opposition to the 21st petroleum concession bidding, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday.

The NRC on Tuesday night voted against its energy reform committee, which supports bidding for the concession.

The NRC voted 130 to 79 against the committee’s proposal to continue the bidding process.

Tongchat Hongladaromp chairs the committee.

Most committee members agreed the petroleum concession bidding, announced by the Energy Ministry in September last year, should continue.

However, they said the ministry must work on legislation to enable a productionsharing scheme as an alternative to the concession-granting scheme for rights to the next petroleum exploration and production projects.

Pramon Sutivong, chairman of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT), in his capacity as an NRC member, told a meeting of the ACT board yesterday that the NRC was not completely opposed to the new petroleum concession bidding.

The NRC only disagrees with the approach chosen f or i mplementing the bidding.

If this can be changed, there should not be any problem, said the deputy prime minister. The Energy Ministry will discuss the matter in detail later, he said.

Asked whether this means the government will have to suspend or revise the bidding plan, Mr Wissanu said he needed more time to study the matter.

He is yet to see details of the NRC’s solution to conflicts in the energy project, or details of the proposal to continue with the bidding process, he said.

Asked whether the regime must follow the NRC’s suggestion, Mr Wissanu said the government is responsible for managing state affairs.

When the NRC proposes something, the government is not obliged to agree with it.