Bangkok Post: Thailand Risks Facing Serious LNG Shortage

Thailand is at risk of being short of 6,300 megawatts of electricity in 2021 due to the possible disruption of up to 9 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) stemming from the lack of further investment  in the Erawan and Bongkot gas fields. 

Production concessions for the two blocks -- Bongkot, operated by PTTEP, and Erawan, operated by Chevron -- are due to expire in 2022-23, according to the Energy Policy and Planning Office (Eppo). 

Production is depleting ahead of the end of the concessions as the two operators are unlikely to invest more, forcing Thailand to increasingly rely on imported LNG to get sufficient gas for the power-generating sector. 

However, the limited storing capacity of the country's LNG terminals of 11 million tonnes a year, while demand stands at around 20 million tonnes, means that Thailand could face a 9-million-tonne shortage of LNG, said Eppo's director-general Prasert Sinsukprasert.  MORE