The director-general of the Mineral Fuels Department, Premrutai Vinaiphat, has been reassigned as inspector-general of the Energy Ministry amid an unresolved dispute over gas platform decommissioning expense in the Erawan and Bongkot offshore fields.
On Tuesday, the cabinet approved the personnel request from the ministry.
Under the reshuffle, Sarawut Kaewtathip, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary, will replace Mrs Premrutai as director-general. The effective date will be announced in the Royal Gazette.
A source at the ministry said Mr Sarawut will be assigned by the ministry to conduct discussions with Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production Ltd, PTT Exploration and Production and other stakeholders.
Mrs Premrutai could not be reached for comment.
The dispute arose on June 13, when the Mineral Fuels Department sent letters to current gas operators requiring a collateral payment of a combined 105 billion baht for the decommissioning process for the offshore gas platforms in two key gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand.
Of the total collateral, 75 billion baht was the expected payment for the Erawan field for 200 platforms and 30 billion baht for the Bongkot field for 100 platforms.
The concessions for the gas blocks will expire in 2022 and 2023. US-based Chevron is the main operator of the Erawan gas field with Japan's Moeko as a shareholder.
PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) holds the concession contract for the Bongkot field with France's Total.
Chevron, Moeko and Total were asked to pay the collateral for decommissioning, while PTTEP would take over the operations for both gas fields.
The letter said the department was providing a grace period of 120 days and the full payment was due on Oct 11.
But the concession operators have refused to pay for the collateral and may proceed with arbitration against the government.
On Monday of last week, the Energy Ministry said it expected to settle the dispute in March 2020 after the current operators submitted letters to the department in mid-September with their objections to the collateral payment.
Energy permanent secretary Kulit Sombatsiri said the ministry would take roughly 180 days to consider their objections.
Because these platforms will not be transferred to the government, the operators have been asked to pay for the decommissioning expense.
"The collateral payment procedure follows the Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Plans and Estimated Costs and Security for Decommissioning of Installations Used in the Petroleum Industry of 2016," Mr Kulit said.