Thailand NEWS

Thailand’s national upstream company PTTEP and US supermajor Chevron have boosted their upstream portfolios with the award of new acreage offshore Thailand offered in the country’s 24th licensing round.

Almost two years to the day since the military seized power in Myanmar, Chevron has lined up a buyer for its majority stake in the producing Yadana gas field — the offshore asset that supplies vital volumes to the domestic market and neighbouring Thailand.

The Indonesian government is preparing to launch domestic legal action against Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) (BKK:PTTEP) relating to economic and environmental damages suffered by local people around Kupang following the 2009 Montara oil spill.

Fuel retailer Or has partnered with EVLomo to deploy 150kW DC Super-Fast charging stations at around 100 PTT stations in Thailand's Eastern Economic corridor. PTT, formerly Petroleum Authority of Thailand, is an oil and gas company that owns Or. The corridor is an economic zone that includes the provinces of Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong Provinces in eastern Thailand.

Thailand’s largest energy company PTT announced on Monday, that it planned to cut investment by up to 15% after booking quarterly losses due to a sharp drop in oil prices and weak demand for petrochemicals amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The state-owned firm reported losses of $48.2 million in its first-quarter ending in March, its first loss in four years, versus a profit of $91.2mil a year earlier.

A worker on Taqa's North Sea platform was quarantined for suspected infection to coronavirus. The worker was deployed on Taqa's Tern Alpha platform, offshore Shetland, and had recently returned from a holiday in Thailand. The energy company informed that the worker is currently kept under isolation. Taqa said: "A member of crew on board our Tern Alpha platform has presented with minor symptoms after returning recently from a holiday in Thailand."

Thailand-based E&P major, PTTEP has found an enormous gas field with first well drilled on the SK410B block offshore Sarawak, Malaysia. PTTEP’s Malaysian subsidiary discovered 252m of net gas pay, indicating a multi-trillion cubic feet (tcf) gas discovery. Drilled to a depth of 3,810 m, the Lang Lebah-1RDR2 is supposedly PTTEP’s largest discovery.

PTT Exploration and Production Public Co Ltd (PTTEP) has decided to acquire Partex Holding BV. The acquisition will be worth approximately US$622mn. This decision will help PTTEP expand in Oman and open the gates for future investment opportunities in the Middle East. "This acquisition will allow us to create a new business partnership with both national oil companies of Oman and the UAE,” said PTTEP's CEO.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum yesterday informed about inking a 10-year sales agreement with Thailand’s SCG Chemicals. The long-term supply agreement will require QP to deliver 3 million metric tons of Light Naphtha to SCG, beginning April 2019. The agreement marks the first Qatar Petroleum for the Sale of Petroleum Products Company (QPSPP) naphtha feedstock sale to an end-user like SCG in Thailand.

Eni SpA and PTT Exploration and Production Pcl have received rights for the exploration of oil and natural gas in Abu Dhabi. The energy majors have committed to invest at least $230 million to assess the offshore blocks. Once the production phase is reached, ADNOC will have the option to retain 60% of the fields. ADNOC’s CEO said “We are engaging with partners who actually put skin in the game”.

French supermajor Total’s JV with Amsterdam-based Corbion, Total Corbion PLA informed about starting-up the new bioplastics plant in Rayong, Thailand. The 75,000 tpa-capacity plant will produce poly lactic acid (PLA), which is in high demand. The firms are looking to meet rising demand in markets such as consumer goods, packaging, 3D printing and the automotive industries.

Thai Oil has awarded the consortium of Petrofac, Saipem and Samsung a £3billion clean fuels project in Thailand. The project aims at transforming the existing refinery in the Chon Buri province into a facility that is environmentally-friendly. Under the contract, Petrofac will provide engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) services for over four years, which will also include adding new processing units. Petrofac will receive over £1billion as share.

McDermott International has secured a multi-million dollar technology contract in Thailand. The EPC major will offer basic engineering and license of Lummus' olefins technology. McDermott will also design and provide the proprietary SRT® III heater for the Map Ta Phut Olefins Co (MOC) Debottleneck Project. McDermott's Lummus Technology is one of the leading licensors of proprietary petrochemicals, gasification, refining, and gas processing technologies.

Tech giant, Microsoft and oil major, Shell are coming together to run a pilot project on the integration of AI tools into gas stations, with initial implementation in Singapore and Thailand. Microsoft is deploying its proprietary Azure IoT Edge to find people smoking cigarettes at the station, considering the serious safety risks posed by smoking. The firms are also working on efficient drilling using AI and better communication between employees.

Oman Oil Company entered into a partnership with Thailand-based Gulf Energy Development to construct the Duqm power and water plant project. The project is located in Duqm Special Economic Zone. With an installed capacity of around 326 MW, the Duqm project will be a 1,667 cubic metres per hour water facility. The project will support the Oman Oil’s Infrastructure Vertical strategic vision.

Thailand-based energy firm, Bangchak Corporation (BCP) has decided to sell its stakes in the Galoc oil field to Tamarind Galoc Pte in a $20 million deal. BCP owns 55.8% interest in the field. The Galoc oil field is moving towards the last stage of production life, with 2 years of remaining life. BCP purchased a 45% stake of Okea AS last month, which will help continue upstream petroleum production uninterruptedly.

Aligning with its objective to simplify and refocus its portfolio, Shell sold off its 22.2% stake in the Bongkot field, offshore Thailand in a $750 million deal to PTT Exploration and Production. PTTEP which is already the operator of Bongkot increased its stake in the field to 66.67%. Total owns the remaining 33.33%. Shell bought stakes in Blocks 15, 16 and 17 and Block G12/48 in January this year.