Thailand says gas route likely to be changed
Date: 30-Apr-02
Country: THAILAND
Author: Pisit Changplayngam
Suriya Jungrungreangkit told reporters it was "very likely" Thailand would alter the route from Songkhla province's Chana district to a new site to appease local opposition.
"It is very likely that we will relocate the pipeline," Suriya said. "Public hostility has caused violence in the past. No matter how feasible the currently proposed site would be, we perhaps have to move it to alleviate further risks."
Early this month, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ordered studies into alternative routes for the long-delayed 30 billion baht ($694.4 million) pipeline, a joint investment by Malaysian state oil firm Petronas and Thailand's PTT Plc .
Construction of the 366-km (230-mile) pipeline and a gas separation plant was due to begin early last year, but has been awaiting for environmental approval and been delayed by protests in the region where the line was proposed to come ashore.
In the original route, the pipeline ran from a gas field in the Gulf of Thailand to Songkhla province, where a gas separation plant was to be built, then to Kedah state in northern Malaysia.
Studies on a new route, passing through land owned by the Thai navy, were due to be completed by this week.
PETRONAS WANTS QUICK DECISION
Kuala Lumpur industry sources have said Petronas has pressed for speedier implementation of the project to serve increasing demand in its domestic market.
Petronas President and Chief Executive Hassan Marican was quoted on April 11 by the official Bernama news agency as saying it would find an alternative solution to bring gas ashore if PTT remained undecided.
"We want to land our share of the gas. It is up to Thailand to decide what it wants to do next," he was quoted as saying. "We are willing to go it alone."
Hassan said Petronas was considering other options, including piping the gas across the Lawit or Jernih gas fields off the northeastern state of Terengganu which are already connected by pipelines to the Petronas onshore facility in Kertih.
Suriya said yesterday Petronas had not been directly informed about the possibility of altering the route, but representatives from Petronas in the joint venture had been consulted.
A source in Kuala Lumpur said the operators were hoping to start gas production by end 2003 after missing the initial start date of mid-2002.
Malaysia originally planned to start using gas from the project in the third quarter of this year.
The main section of the pipeline carrying gas from the Gulf of Thailand to the separation plant would have a capacity of just over one billion cubic feet a day.
