Page 10 - AsianOil Week 04 2021

AsianOil SOUTHEAST ASIA AsianOil

While Thailand’s response to the pandemic The executive noted that in addition
has been one of the most successful, the country to reviewing domestic demand levels the
has experienced a resurgence in daily case num- company was also looking to revive its
bers since the latest wave began on December plans to become a re-export hub for the
15. Local authorities reported a record number frozen fuel.
of daily infections on January 26, with the count PTT wants to resume its trading trial after
reaching 959 new cases. the project was suspended in the third quarter of
“New estimates for gas demand will be car- 2020 owing to the country’s extension of state of
ried out soon, but the calculation is quite diffi- emergency measures.
cult because price fluctuations remain high,” The “Not only did the lockdown halt project
Bangkok Post quoted Wuttikorn as saying. development, but the delay also came about
Although prices have soared from record from decreasing demand for LNG in the third
lows to record highs in a matter of months, quarter last year,” Wuttikorn said.
Wuttikorn said domestic gas consumers were PTT intends to import LNG for re-export as
unlikely to feel the pinch owing to the fact that part of a trial overseen by the Energy Regulatory
70% of the country’s LNG imports were arranged Commission in order to avoid breaking a law
under long-term contracts. that prohibits gas exports.™

EAST ASIA

Sumitomo calls it a day on oil investments

FINANCE & JAPANESE trading house Sumitomo has said front-end engineering and design (FEED) con-
INVESTMENT it will stop investing in new oil developments tract with JGC Holdings for a solar-powered
as it shifts away from fossil fuels amid a global green hydrogen production plant in Gladstone,
push to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Australia. The plant will produce 250-300 tonnes
the Nikkei reported. per year (tpy) of hydrogen, and could scale up in
The move comes as global miners and Jap- the future.
anese trading companies cut their exposure to It has also started a feasibility study for a grey-
coal operations, including mining and power green hybrid hydrogen project in Oman.
generation, to trim harmful carbon dioxide However, Sumitomo is still committed to
emissions and to slow climate change. coal projects, and is continuing to invest in coal
Major Japanese trading houses have said they in Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. It is also
will stop investing in new projects to develop intending to develop a second coal power project
thermal coal mines or build coal-fired power in Bangladesh.
stations, but this would be the first time that a This is despite booking $250mn loss from its
Japanese trading firm has decided not to invest Western Australian Bluewaters coal-fired power
in new oil projects, the Nikkei said. station. The loss ensured that 2020 was the com-
Sumitomo will no longer participate in auc- pany’s worst-ever annual performance.
tions for new oil projects, though it will continue Other Japanese investors such as Mitsubishi,
its existing oil projects, including those in North Marubeni and Mitsui have divested from coal
Sea, the paper said, without citing sources. production across Asia.
In energy and natural resources, Sumitomo The Japanese government in October 2020
will focus its management resources on renewa- said it was targeting net-zero emissions for the
ble energy such as offshore wind farms and base nation by 2050. This is the most significant shift
metals, including copper and nickel used in elec- in Japanese energy policy yet and will see a fur-
tric vehicles (EVs), the Nikkei said. For example, ther, long-term move away from coal towards
Sumitomo has announced that it has signed a renewables.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 04 28•January•2021