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Egat to buy natural gas from Burma

Subject: Egat to buy natural gas from Burma (The Nation 8-1-2000)

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<b>Egat to buy natural gas from Burma<br>
<br>
</b>THE Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) expects to strike a deal
with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to procure
natural gas from Burma by month's end, a PTT official announced
yesterday. <br>
<br>
The natural gas will be extracted from Burma's Yadana field for use at
the Ratchaburi power plant. <br>
<br>
Under the deal with PTT, Egat would agree to purchase more natural gas
while the PTT would reduce transmission charges through its pipeline from
Bt19 to Bt17 per million British thermal units, said Anon
Sirisaengtaksin, PTT's deputy president for natural-gas marketing and
transmission. <br>
<br>
He said the lower transmission charge was a good incentive for Egat to
buy more natural gas. <br>
<br>
Burma's Yadana natural-gas field was to supply an initial volume of 525
million cubic feet per day (mcfpd) to Thailand. <br>
<br>
However, a construction delay at the Ratchaburi power plant has resulted
in PTT facing hefty fines under the take-or-pay agreement it signed with
gas developers. Fines have totalled US$50 million over the past two
years. <br>
<br>
Currently only one of the six power units is operational at the plant.
The Cabinet earlier ordered PTT and Egat to settle the construction
problems by the end of August 1999. <br>
<br>
Although fuel oil was cheaper than natural gas in the past, gas is now
about 10 per cent cheaper. <br>
<br>
Besides supplying natural gas to the Ratchaburi plant, the Burmese gas
will supply a power plant at Wang Noi once a pipeline is completed there
in July. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Thailand's first Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, operated by
Tri Energy, will also require natural gas when it opens in February. The
power plant will consume 120 to 130 mcfpd, said Anon. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
He said the utilisation of the Yadana natural gas would rise by 600 to
700 mcfpd when consumption at the Ratchaburi plant was included. <br>
<br>
According to estimates from PTT, natural gas from Yadana would account
for 21 per cent of the country's total natural-gas supply by 2003. At
that time natural gas supplied by Unocal's gas fields will produce the
largest volume, at 550 mcfpd. <br>
<br>
<br>
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The remainder of the natural gas will come from Thai plants in Pailin
(330 mcfpd), Yetakun (260 mcfpd), Tantawan (85 mcfpd), and Benjamas (40
mcfpd). <br>
<br>
BY NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG <br>
<br>
The Nation <br>
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