PTT Pcl, Thailand's top energy firm, has signed a preliminary deal with Anadarko Petroleum Corp to buy 2.6 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a field in Mozambique, a senior company executive said.
This is the latest in a string of efforts by Thailand to secure long-term energy supplies. LNG, gas chilled to liquid form for sea transport, is a key fuel source in the Southeast Asian country that uses natural gas to generate almost 70 percent of its electricity.
PTT has signed a preliminary supply agreement with Anadarko Petroleum, major shareholder and operator of Rovuma Offshore Area 1 in Mozambique, Tevin Vongvanich, CEO of PTT Exploration and Production Pcl told reporters late on Thursday.
PTT Exploration and Production Pcl, or PTTEP, is the flagship company of state-controlled PTT and has an 8.5 percent interest in the field, while Indian state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp owns 10 percent and Mozambique's state-owned ENH 15 percent.
PTTEP is also in talks with Mozambique state officials about regulations on petroleum business in the South African country and is negotiating with owners of fields close to Area 1 about the possibility of cooperation, Tevin said.
Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to import LNG when it brought a 5 million tonne-per-year import terminal online in 2011. The country has plans to double its total handling capacity.
PTT previously said it was also in talks to buy LNG from producers in the United States and Australia.
As part of its plan to boost output and secure energy reserves, PTTEP recently joined with Indonesia's Pertamina to buy Hess Corp's stake in two Indonesian offshore oil fields for $1.3 billion.
PTTEP is widely expected by analysts to win the bid for Hess Corp's assets in Thailand as well.
Tevin said the bidding results will be announced later this month and a win would help boost the company's petroleum sales growth by more than 15 percent next year.
