Thailand approves another LNG import licence

Thailand’s energy regulator has approved another liquefied natural gas import licence as the country is stepping up efforts in liberalising its gas and LNG markets.

The Energy Regulatory Commission said in a statement it granted an LNG import licence on Wednesday to a subsidiary of B.Grimm Power.

The power company is a unit of Thailand’s industrial conglomerate B.Grimm Group.

The permit allows the power company to import 650,000 tonnes of LNG per year to the Map Ta Phut import terminal in Rayong province.

The company plans to use LNG to fuel five small gas-fired power plants currently under construction.

B.Grimm Power says the use of chilled fuel would “support the fuel cost management for electricity generation”.

The PTT-operated Map Ta Phut terminal is currently the only LNG import facility in Thailand but the country is building a second facility with a capacity of 7 mtpa next to it.

Map Ta Phut has a storage capacity of 11.5 million tonnes per year with expansion plans in place to add more.

This is the third LNG import licence for Thailand’s private sector following the recent award of two licenses to power producers Gulf Energy Development Public and Hin Kong Power.

Thailand’s national oil and gas company, PTT was previously the only licensed LNG importer.

State-owned utility Egat ended PTT’s LNG import monopoly in December 2019 after receiving a licence and by importing its first cargo from Malaysia’s Petronas.