Amid global geopolitical conflicts and the impacts of war in the Middle East, PTT Group has prepared energy management strategies to handle the crisis.
PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), as the national energy organization, plays a key role in managing the country's energy to ensure adequate supply for all sectors in Thailand under the principle “Stability, Transparency, for Thailand.”
In the context of energy procurement, beyond securing fuel oil, natural gas procurement is crucial to strengthening energy security.It is the coreof energy security enhancement.
Starting with managing natural gas volumes in the Gulf of Thailand to ensure all sectors in the country have uninterrupted access. Thailand is fortunate that the natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand is 'wet gas,' rich in valuable compounds that go beyond just being used for electricity generation. This requires gas separation plants to extract valuable gases such as methane, ethane, propane, and butane to maximize their benefits.
These are used to produce fuel for power plants, automotive fuel (NGV), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)—a basic energy source for households, transportation, and industry—as well as raw materials for the petrochemical industry, such as packaging, clothing, automotive parts, and electrical appliances, thereby reducing lost economic opportunities.
Besides managing natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is sourced worldwide to enhance energy security. Moreover, during the Middle East conflict coinciding with Thailand’s summer season, electricity demand surged in March-April.
The war's impact caused LNG producers in Qatar to fail to deliver gas as contracted. PTT proactively negotiated with producers in the Gulf of Thailand and neighboring countries, postponed maintenance plans at gas separation plants to boost output, procured spot LNG from other regions to compensate, and maintained stable LNG inventory reserves. These efforts ensured Thailand’s continuous energy supply without shortages. Spot LNG procurement during this emergency was conducted transparently with government approval.
Managing energy in crisis is not just about securing enough fuel but balancing natural gas usage among all users to sustain economic activities and daily life, while preparing for long-term volatility in the global energy market.