Thailand's longest onshore gas pipeline has opened to facilitate gas transport for power plants and factories, following a delay related to the pandemic, says PTT president and chief executive Auttapol Rerkpiboon.
The 417-kilometre pipeline that spans seven provinces should help to secure gas supply, which is a major fuel used for power generation, industrial operation and transport, he said.
The facility, the fifth-phase development of PTT's gas pipelines, runs from the company's gas separation plants in Rayong to Chon Buri, Chachoengsao, Prachin Buri, Bangkok, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi, covering a gas transport network from the eastern to western regions.
The pipeline will play an important role in transporting gas from key areas, including gas blocks in the Gulf of Thailand, liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals, and areas in the western part of the country which receive gas from Myanmar, said Mr Auttapol.
He said the pipeline is designed to supply gas volumes of 2 billion standard cubic feet per day. Up to 28 gas control stations were also built.
The project received approval from the National Energy Policy Council in September 2015, with a development cost of 110 billion baht, and was slated to begin operations in 2021. However, the Covid-19 outbreak from 2020 to 2022 postponed the development timeline.
The new gas transport facility is set to replace ageing pipelines, constructed during the first and second phases, which have been in service for over 30 years.
PTT is also developing a gas separation plant (unit 7) and another onshore pipeline transporting natural gas from the Bang Pakong area to the South Bangkok Power Plant in Samut Prakan.
Both of these installations are under construction, with the operational launch for the former planned for the fourth quarter of this year and the latter in 2025, the company said.
Thailand's gas supply is composed of 55% domestic gas, 28% imported LNG and 17% gas imported from Myanmar, totalling a combined volume of 1,487 metric million British thermal units, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission.