DOHA: Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) yesterday announced the signing of a long-term LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) between Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited 3 (Qatargas 3) and PTT Public Company Limited of Thailand.
The agreement was signed by the Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Qatargas, H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, and Pailin Chuchottaworn, Chief Executive Officer and President of PTT.
Under the terms of the agreement, Qatargas 3 will deliver two million tonnes per annum (MTA) of LNG for a period of 20 years beginning from 2015. The agreement marks PTT’s first long-term LNG SPA.
Dr Al Sada said: “Qatar is to provide reliable energy supplies to the world. I am proud to state that in line with this vision Qatargas, the largest LNG producing company in the world has committed to provide LNG to Thailand to meet its growing energy needs. This agreement underpins Qatar’s proven capability to meet the LNG requirement of the customers around the globe safely and reliably.”
Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas Operating Company Limited, added: “This is a momentous occasion for us as this is the first long-term agreement for Qatargas in South-East Asia and our first term contract with PTT. Qatari LNG continues to play a key role in helping countries around the world improve the diversity of their energy supplies. We are very happy that our discussions with PTT regarding a long term agreement have come to fruition. We look forward to a strong and enduring partnership with PTT.”
Pailin Chuchottaworn, Chief Executive Officer and President of PTT said:“Qatargas and PTT have consistently maintained cordial relations. In our initial preparation for LNG imports, Qatargas supported us and delivered LNG commissioning cargoes. In particular, its LNG delivery proved helpful last year when one of our transmission pipelines faced problems. Today, PTT is delighted to have concluded this long-term LNG agreement, the first for Thailand with Qatargas.
“Thanks to the support of both countries, the success today marks a milestone for continued cordial partnership between the two entities, together with LNG and natural gas cooperation in future years”
In 2011, Qatargas delivered the first commissioning cargo to Map Ta Phut LNG Receiving Terminal, Thailand’s first and only LNG receiving terminal. Since then, Qatargas has sold several spot cargoes to PTT.
The current capacity of Map Ta Phut LNG Receiving Terminal is five MTA and PTT has plans to increase this capacity to ten MTA. The terminal is currently compatible with Q-Flex vessels with plans to receive Q-max vessels in the future.
Qatargas sees the Kingdom of Thailand as an evolving LNG market and recognizes its potential within South East Asia to absorb significant quantities of LNG in the future.
The Peninsula
