Talks on the overlapping claim area (OCA) between Thailand and Cambodia to jointly benefit from the petroleum business there are expected to resume, part of efforts to decrease dependence on expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, said deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.
Thailand's Foreign Affairs Ministry will lead the talks which aim to seek an agreement on benefit sharing from petroleum production.
It is expected that the area will become a new natural gas source in the upper part of the Gulf of Thailand.
Mr Supattanapong, who is also the minister of energy, said he believes the new petroleum business will benefit the two countries, helping them relieve the impact of the surge in global energy prices.
The move to resume the talks is a long-term energy management plan after Thailand faced higher energy prices, especially of LNG, one of the main fuels used to produce electricity.
The LNG price in the spot market was above US$40 per British thermal unit (BTU) as of last Friday. It has decreased from $61 per BTU in August.
However, the price remains expensive, compared with $8-10 on average per BTU last year and just $2-3 per BTU in 2020.
The rise in LNG imports follows the drop in gas supply from the Gulf.
The proportion of gas coming from the Gulf of Thailand has fallen to 54%, down from 64%, while imported LNG has increased to 20% of the total, up from 8%.
One way to increase domestic gas supply is the plan to explore and produce gas in the OCA.
Calls for OCA talks were previously made by the Thaksin Shinawatra administration in 2001. Sontirat Sontijirawong, a former energy minister, also raised the issue in 2019 during a meeting of Asean energy ministers.
"We expect to start the talks again," said Mr Supattanapong.
Thailand is now trying to reduce imports of LNG by using other fuels for power generation.