Regional LNG: Thai PTT to invest Bt36 bn in LNG terminal and deep-sea port

Thailand?s state-owned oil & gas conglomerate PTT Plc said Friday it plans to invest over Bt36 billion (about US$945 million) in a deep-sea port, receiving terminal and pipeline for liquefied natural gas, The Nation of Thailand reported.

Of the total investment, PTT will spend around Bt26 billion to construct the deep-sea port and LNG receiving terminal at Map Ta Phut industrial estate in Rayong province, to be completed in 2010, PTT's executive vice president Chitrapongse Kwangsukstith said.

PTT will also spend over Bt10 billion to build a pipeline to deliver the LNG to power plants in Korat province in the northeastern part of the country, Chitrapongse said.

"PTT will invest 100 percent during the startup period. After that, we will allow other electricity firms to jointly invest and reduce our stake to 60 percent," he said.

EGAT Plc and Electricity Generating Plc have shown interest in participating in the project, he added.

Electricity-generating plants will receive 60 percent of the LNG from the terminal, while the rest will go to industries such as the automobile industry, he said.

PTT on Friday signed contract with the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand to use a plot of land in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate to jointly develop the deep-sea port and the LNG receiving terminal. (*)