The Thailand experience in natural gas development

We describe the development of Thailand's natural gas industry, including exploration, supply, transmission, and utilization. Activities in this area started more than 10 years ago with exploration for petroleum in the Gulf of Thailand. The main transmission pipeline for natural gas from the reserves in the Gulf of Thailand to two power plants in Bangkok has been completed. The natural gas that is being delivered and which is planned for up to 1990 has all been committed to supply domestic demand in order to save energy cost, reduce foreign currency outflow, reduce dependency on imported petroleum, and provide feedstock for basic petrochemical industries. These targets have been set and based on offshore gas reserves of 16 × 10¹² ft³ supplying gas at a rate of $\text{700 × 10}{}^6\text{ft}{}^3\text{/d}$ by 1990. However, the discovery of new gas and oil reserves onshore in the central part of Thailand may provide new opportunities for Thailand to earn foreign exchange through the export of excess petroleum in the future.