Activists tipped to join oil study panel

The government has hinted at the possibility of a group of energy reform activists joining a panel which will be set up to study the controversial national oil corporation proposal.

The move comes after the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) voted to approve a controversial petroleum bill yesterday but removed a heavily criticised provision to set up a national oil corporation (NOC).

The NLA agreed to withdraw Section 10/1 of the bill, which deals with the establishment of the NOC, following opposition from prominent figures including former deputy prime minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula.

The NOC proposal will be only annexed as an observation to the end of the bill and a one-year study period required before an NOC can be set up. It requires the government to set up a panel to study the NOC issue within 60 days.

Observers noted that such an annex is not usually legally binding and that it is up to the government to consider whether to use it.

Section 10/1 of the bill states that a NOC, which would have authority over the county’s petroleum resources, would be set up “when everything is ready”.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam yesterday said the government will have 60 days to set up a committee to study the pros and cons of the NOC.

The study must be completed in one year, Mr Wissanu said, adding that the NLA is expected to forward the bill and the observation to the government in the next five days.

The Energy Ministry will then consider who will be invited to join the committee, Mr Wissanu said, adding that the panel may include academics or representatives from the People’s Alliance for Energy Reform (PAER), which supports the NOC proposal but opposes the petroleum bill.

The ministry will then present the list of potential panel members to the cabinet for approval, Mr Wissanu said.

Regarding the petroleum bill, which was passed in its third reading by the NLA by a vote of 227-1, Mr Wissanu said it will be submitted for royal endorsement within 20 days before it becomes law.

Mr Wissanu, also a well-known legal expert, said the government is not obliged to strictly follow such an observation.

However, ML Kornkasiwat Kasemsri, a key member of the PAER ,yesterday told the Bangkok Post there was no use in appointing representatives of the PAER to sit on the study panel.

He said he once sat on an NLA subcommittee studying the NOC, but the NOC proposal ended up being withdrawn.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday gave assurances that the one-year study period required before the NOC can be set up will not delay the process of granting new petroleum concessions.

The prime minster also threatened tough legal action against anyone who stages demonstrations as this is illegal under the law regulating public assembly.

Meanwhile, the Dusit District Court yesterday fined six key figures of the PAER 3,000 baht each for staging a demonstration within a radius of 150 metres from a royal palace.

Kamolphan Cheewaphansri, one of the six PAER figures, later said she wanted to let the public know the group’s protest was meant to safeguard national oil resources.