Singapore (Platts)--19Jan2011/526 am EST/1026 GMT
Chevron is still trying to speed up the completion of its $3.1 billion Platong 2 gas development in the Gulf of Thailand to meet the Thai kingdom's growing demand for the fuel for power, petrochemical and transport use, according to company and government officials at a launch ceremony Wednesday for the central processing platform for the project. "With gas demand in Thailand growing by 13% in 2010, we are working to accelerate Platong 2's progress towards first gas," said Jim Blackwell, President, Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production. But even though Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production President Pairoj Kaweeyanun said a month ago that the platform would be producing by July 2011, no further official confirmation of a start date was forthcoming. Chevron is "not going to confirm any dates," said Joe Geagea, managing director, Chevron Asia South. Platong 2 was originally expected to start up in 2012, but the project was fast-tracked as Thailand's natural gas demand climbed. "This is something that is very much needed for the economy," Geagea said. "We're getting close to putting this on a big barge and sending it to the Gulf of Thailand ... and getting it online as soon as we can. The need to accelerate is very much understood." The platform is currently at the Batam, Indonesia, fabrication yard of US engineering and construction company McDermott International. Chevron has agreed to deliver 330,000 Mcf/day of natural gas from Platong 2 to Thailand's state-owned oil and gas company PTT, although the platform has a capacity of 420,000 Mcf/d. Once the platform is online and processing at contracted rates, it will boost Thailand's natural gas production -- currently at 2.89 Bcf/day -- by more than 10%, according to a Chevron fact sheet on the project. Platong 2 will "significantly increase the gas production of Thailand to meet growing gas demand in coming years," said Norkun Sitthiphong, the permanent secretary of the Thai Energy Ministry. His deputy, Kurujit Nakornthap, later said that Thailand's gas demand was forecast to grow annually at 5%-7% over the next several years. Chevron produces about one-third of Thailand's gas needs. It is the operator of the Platong 2 development, with a 70% participating interest. Partners Mitsui oil Exploration and PTT Exploration and Production hold the remainder.--Thomas Hogue, thomas_hogue@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Similar stories appear in Oilgram News. See more information at http://bit.ly/OilgramNews