Qatargas delivers first LNG shipment to Thailand’s PTT

Qatar Liquefied Gas (Qatargas) has delivered the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment to PTT at around 90,000t.

The delivery is part of the sales and purchase agreement, signed in 2012, for two million tonnes per annum, or around 280 million cubic feet per day, for the next 20 years.

PTT said the demand for natural gas in Thailand is increasing every year despite the downward trend in the supply of natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar.

The company noted that LNG supports the nation’s energy demand. PTT has imported LNG since 2011 via the spot market, with the imported volume increasing steadily.

Imported LNG currently amounts to two million tonnes per annum. It is expected that around five million tonnes of LNG will be imported in 2015 according to the Power Development Plan for 2010-30.

PTT LNG is in the process of expanding the capacity of its receiving terminal to be able to accommodate ten million tonnes per annum, from the existing five million tonnes per annum capacity.

The expansion is expected to be completed in 2017.

Qatargas has an annual LNG production capacity of 77 million tonnes per annum, equivalent to around 33% of total global LNG sales.

Qatar has total natural gas reserves of around 900 trillion cubic feet, enough to support natural gas demand for more than 100 years.