Ministry of Energy looks to enhance Russian energy trade
Section: Business News - The Ministry of Energy said it wants to enhance energy cooperation with Russia in three
areas including crude oil imports from the Stalinist sate to ensure the country has a strong energy reserve to meet
rising demand.
The Policy and Strategy Coordination Office's director, Songpope Polachan, said the ministry plans to enhance
energy cooperation with Russia in three areas; a government-to-government (G-to-G) crude oil purchase deal; planned
investment in Sakarin petroleum source by PTT Plc and a deal to purchase additional crude oil from Russia in case it
completed the laying down of gas pipelines to ship its crude oil to Japan.
Currently, Thailand has a G-to-G energy purchase deal with China, said Songpope, adding China is also keen to sell
the surplus crude to Thailand it purchased from Russia.
The crude oil purchased from Russia would be supplied to refiners Thai Oil and Bangchak Petroleum Plc, said Songpope.
PTT and Bangchak have yet to come up with the exact figure as to how much additional crude oil volume they are in need
of to boost their current capacity. It is yet to be decided that the Russian crude oil will meet the required
specifications of the two local refiners, said Songpope, adding the specifications of Russian crude and Middle East
crude differ from each other. Thailand imports up to 70 percent of its total crude oil, said Songpope.
PTT is keen on investing in Russia's Sakarin, a vast source proven as having strong natural gas deposits in
which concession holders Shell and Esso have so far invested a combined $20 million for pumping natural gas from the
source and then convert it as liquefied natural gas (LNG), ahead of exporting it to the United States, China, Japan and
South Korea, said Songpope. PTT wants to jointly invest in this source to boost its present energy investment profile
abroad, added Songpope.
Should Russia succeed in laying down its pipelines for transmitting its crude oil to Japan, and then Thailand will
purchase additional crude oil from Russia, said Songpope, adding it would be easier and cheaper for Thailand than
procuring crude from any other source.
"The Thai Ministry of Energy would also strengthen energy cooperation with Russia, which has a huge energy
resource," said Songpope. "Russia is the world's eighth-largest crude oil producer, the world's
second-largest natural gas producer, and the world's largest coal miner. Should Russia make the most of its
lucrative energy resources, then it could emerge as one of the world's economic leaders in the near future,"
he said.
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
