Rachaburi power plant (r)

[michel3392@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Bangkokpost December 28, 1999

ENERGY

Ratchaburi plant opens

Initially using only one gas turbine

Boonsong Kositchotethana

The Ratchaburi power plant, built to run primarily on natural gas from 
offshore Burma, was officially put onstream by the Electricity Generating 
Authority of Thailand (Egat) yesterday.

Construction of the plant, ultimately to be one of Asean's largest power 
stations with a planned generating capacity of 3,200 megawatts (MW), was 
delayed by 18 months from the original schedule, mainly because of problems 
experienced by the contractors, a consortium of Japan's Mitsui & Co and 
General Electric of the US.

However, only the first gas turbine, with a generating capacity of 200 
megawatts, started operation yesterday, resulting in only a small
volume of natural gas from the Yadana gas field, about 70 million cubic feet 
per day, being taken.

The subsequent five gas turbines, each with 200-megawatt capacity,
are to come online between January and August next year, according to
Egat governor Viravat Chlayon.

In addition, the first three steam turbine generators, each with a
capacity of 200 megawatts, are due for commissioning by July.

A combined-cycle block-two gas turbines and one steam
generator-requires 158 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.

Meanwhile, Egat has scheduled two thermal units, each with a
generating capacity of 700 megawatts, for commissioning next year,
one in June and the other in November.

If all the generating units come online as scheduled, Egat will be able to 
take delivery next year of 525 million cubic feet per day, as committed 
between the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and the Yadana gas 
consortium led by the French-Belgian group, TotalFina.

The PTT and the Yadana group earlier this year resolved a bitter
dispute over the gas payment, caused by the delay in taking the gas.

The Yadana developing group agreed to accept US$50 million from the
PTT as settlement for money owed by the state oil firm.

The payment was $12 million lower than the $62 million owed to
consortium under the "take-or-pay" contract. The contract called for the 
Petroleum Authority of Thailand to make payment by last March for the gas 
which it had not been able to take because of the delay in the
construction of the plant.

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