MOSCOW (MRC) -- National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc is readying its staff to deal with diversifying its business into the global trade of liquefied natural gas (LNG), says chief operating officer Wirat Uanarumit, said Bangkokpost.
He said PTT is also conducting a feasibility study to invest about US$300 million (10.5 billion baht) to develop a facility where ethane will be extracted from LNG.
PTT plans to invest more in its LNG business because it will have to import up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually by 2036.
"PTT has already entered the LNG trade," Mr Wirat said. "In the long term it could become a major LNG importer, so integration of this business is crucial in order to cut risks."
"The business may start in a similar fashion to when we initiated our oil trading business, which began with imports and exports before expanding into out-out trading," Mr Wirat said.
PTT is expanding the storage capacity of the receiving terminal in Rayong from 5 million tonnes a year to 10 million. The additional capacity is due to be available by mid-2017. A subsidiary, PTT Exploration and Production Plc, also holds an 8.5% share in Mozambique's Rovuma A1 gas block to develop a liquefaction facility close to the source. The final investment decision by the consortium is due by year-end. PTT is also expanding capacity for its first LNG terminal to 11.5 million tonnes a year, with the additional capacity available by 2019, as scheduled by the Energy Policy and Planning Office (Eppo). PTT is further increasing its regasification and storage capacity for the second unit of its LNG terminal in Map Ta Phut from 5 million to 6.5 million tonnes a year, as dictated by the energy policymaker.
PTT has already secured long-term purchase contracts with major gas suppliers. It has a 2-million-tonne contract with Qatar Gas, a 1-million-tonne contract with Shell and a 1-million-tonne agreement with Shell and a 1-million-tonne agreement with BP. PTT also plans to import another 1.2 million tonnes from Malaysia's Petronas.
PTT Global Chemical Plc, the petrochemical business arm, also plans to import more LNG and turn its byproduct, naphtha, into feed stock under a retrofit programme.
As MRC informed earlier, PTT Global Chemical Pcl planned to boost sales in Southeast Asia to offset weak demand from China, the company's biggest overseas market.
PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC