Thailand seen to invest $19 billion on energy in next three to five years

About 342 billion baht will be used for petroleum development, including expanding natural gas pipelines, building the second receiving terminal of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and others, Praphon Wongtharua, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary, told an industry seminar.

Some 121 billion baht will be spent on the electricity sector, with 102 billion baht for renewable energy and 126 billion baht for energy saving measures, Praphon said.

The projection was based on Thailand's new energy plan, which aimed to boost the proportion of renewables to 20 percent of total fuel mix by 2036 from 8 percent in 2014, he said.

Thailand, which uses natural gas for almost 70 percent of its power generation, is under pressure to secure long-term energy supply as its own is expected to run out in six to seven years.

About a fifth of supplies are piped from Myanmar but imports from this neighboring country are likely to fall as it is expected to use more of its natural gas resources for its own development.

The ministry aims to encourage more exploration and production activities at home in order to reduce the declining rate of domestic resources to 2 percent a year from 11 percent, Prophan said.

PTT Pcl