Coopeartion with Thailand’s Department of Mineral Fuels

Background

Thailand has limited domestic oil production and reserves, and imports make up a significant portion of the country’s oil consumption. Thailand holds large proven reserves of natural gas, and natural gas production has increased substantially over the last few years. However, the country, like the U.S. is still dependent on imports of natural gas to meet growing domestic demand for the fuel. In September 2006, a military coup overthrew the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The change in leadership did not have any immediate impact on oil or natural gas production. During 2006, Thailand’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an estimated 5.0 percent, right on trend with average 5-year growth levels.

According to Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ), Thailand held 290 million barrels of proven oil reserves as of January 2007. In 2006, Thailand produced an estimated 336,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of total oil liquids, of which 130,000 bbl/d was crude oil, 76,000 bbl/d was lease condensate, and 111,000 bbl/d was natural gas liquids, and the remainder was refinery gain. Thailand consumed an estimated 922,000 bbl/d of oil in 2006, leaving net imports of 586,000 bbl/d, the second largest among Southeast Asian countries.

Planned Activities:

• December 2007 – DMF Officials will be attending the 2nd International Regulators Offshore Safety Conference in Miami, Florida.  After that they plan to meet with Gulf of Mexico regional staff in New Orleans to discuss platform decommissioning regulations, planning, and implementation.

Past Activities:

• May 2005 – DMF Officials from the Thailand Department of Energy visited the MRM offices in Lakewood to learn more about the RIK program.  As a result of the meeting, they plan to institute a RIK program based largely on the MMS model.
   
• February 2006 - DMF sought MMS assistance on the development of their draft decommissioning regulations.  Like the U.S., Thailand has a substantial complex of aging offshore infrastructure.  They plan to follow-up with MMS regarding implementation.

Related Links:

• Thailand’s Department of Mineral Fuels Homepage
   
• Energy Information Administration: Thailand’s Country Analysis Brief