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Cooperation
with Thailand’s Department of Mineral Fuels
Background
Thailand has limited domestic oil
production and reserves, and imports make up a significant portion of
the country’s oil consumption. Thailand holds large proven reserves of
natural gas, and natural gas production has increased substantially over
the last few years. However, the country, like the U.S. is still
dependent on imports of natural gas to meet growing domestic demand for
the fuel. In September 2006, a military coup overthrew the government of
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The change in leadership did not have
any immediate impact on oil or natural gas production. During 2006,
Thailand’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an estimated 5.0
percent, right on trend with average 5-year growth levels.
 
According to
Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ), Thailand held 290 million barrels of proven oil
reserves as of January 2007. In 2006, Thailand produced an estimated
336,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of total oil liquids, of which 130,000
bbl/d was crude oil, 76,000 bbl/d was lease condensate, and 111,000
bbl/d was natural gas liquids, and the remainder was refinery gain.
Thailand consumed an estimated 922,000 bbl/d of oil in 2006, leaving net
imports of 586,000 bbl/d, the second largest among Southeast Asian
countries.
Planned Activities
- December 2007 — DMF Officials will be
attending the
2nd International Regulators Offshore Safety Conference in Miami,
Florida. After that they plan to meet with Gulf of Mexico
regional staff in New Orleans to discuss platform decommissioning
regulations, planning, and implementation.
Past Activities
- May 2005 — DMF Officials from the
Thailand Department of Energy visited the MRM offices in Lakewood to
learn more about the RIK program. As a result of the meeting,
they plan to institute a RIK program based largely on the MMS model.
- February 2006 — DMF sought MMS
assistance on the development of their draft decommissioning
regulations. Like the U.S., Thailand has a substantial complex
of aging offshore infrastructure. They plan to follow-up with
MMS regarding implementation.
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