By an OGJ correspondent
BANGKOK, May 17 -- Thailand's PTT PLC received approval from the Thai Cabinet to purchase natural gas from three blocks in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA) in the South China Sea.
The Cabinet endorsed the draft agreement, which calls for production-sharing contractor Carigali-PTTEPI Operating Co. Sdn. Bhd. (CPOC) to supply 135-270 MMcfd of gas to PTT from tracts B-17, C-19, and B-17-01 over 20 years starting in 2008.
The draft stipulates that CPOC—a 50-50 partnership of Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production PLC and Malaysian state oil firm Petronas—deliver the gas in two stages, said Thai officials.
Phase I will begin with 135 MMcfd on July 1, 2008, and continue for 6 months before ramping up to 270 MMcfd for the following 10 years and stabilizing at 250 MMcfd until the 16th contract year.
Stage II development could see deliveries of 200 MMcfd during 2010-12.
Under the first contract involving MTJDA, gas production of about 200 MMcfd began earlier this year from Cakerawala field on Block A-18. It is flowing initially to Malaysia through a 366-km pipeline through southern Thailand (OGJ Online, Mar 14, 2005).
