Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 48 2020

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Meanwhile, a candidate in Uganda’s next presi- Despite the country producing gas from fields
dential election, scheduled for January 2021, has in the Gulf of Thailand, as well as importing it by
criticised the current administration’s handling pipeline from neighbouring Myanmar, declining
of oil investments and revenues. Major-Gen- output is driving the country to rely increasingly
eral Mugisha Muntu, who is representing the on LNG to sustain its rising fuel demand.
Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Thai LNG imports are projected to climb
declared: “The good thing is [that] if you to 27mn tonnes in 2037 from 4.4mn tonnes
trust and elect me and ANT into power, reve- in 2018, with the chilled fuel set to account for
nues from [the] oil and gas industry and from 70% of the country’s gas supplies compared with
other resources shall be properly utilised and around 13% in 2018.
accounted for, because as a party, we have finan- LNG may also gain ground more quickly in
cial discipline,” he said. the short term, with energy planners reportedly
Muntu was speaking around the same time planning to scale up the use of two import termi-
that Don Binyina, executive director of the nals to offset an anticipated production blip from
Africa Centre for Energy and Mineral Policy, the offshore Erawan gas field from 2022.
criticised Ugandan President Yoweri Musev- The Bangkok Post reported in October that
eni’s handling of oil money. On Museveni’s the government wanted to use spare capacity at A Ugandan
watch, the balance of the country’s Petroleum the Map Ta Phut and Nong Fab LNG import ter-
Fund has dropped from UGX300bn ($81mn) to minals at Rayong to supply gas to TPPs owing to presidential
UGX87bn ($23mn), he said at an event marking anticipated delays in PTT Exploration and Pro-
the launch of the Citizens’ Manifesto on Petro- duction (PTTEP) assuming control of the field candidate
leum and Mining. from Chevron. has criticised
PTTEP has said the US super-major’s arbi-
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping tration with the government over Erawan will the current
Africa’s oil and gas sector then please click here for stop it from installing production facilities this
NewsBase’s AfrOilMonitor . year. Chevron’s concession for Erawan expires in administration’s
2022, with PTTEP set to take over after having
Asia: Egco seeks Thai LNG import licence won the field’s contract in December 2018. handling of oil
Thai power utility Electricity Generating (Egco) The super-major has, however, locked horns investments and
has applied to the Energy Regulatory Commis- with Bangkok over a retroactive law passed in
sion (ERC) for an LNG import licence. 2016 that requires operators to cover the decom- revenues
The company applied earlier this month for missioning costs of equipment they installed,
permission to import 250,000 tonnes per year even if another developer takes over the field and
(tpy) to feed three gas-fired thermal power associated equipment.
plants (TPPs), company president Thepparat
Theppitak told the Bangkok Post on November If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
30. The plants include the 256-MW Banpong Asia’s oil and gas sector then please click here for
TPP in Ratchaburi, the 121-MW Klongluang NewsBase’s AsianOil Monitor.
TPP in Pathum Thani and the 120-MW Egco
TPP in Rayong. DMEA: Ghana LNG scheme secures funds
Theppitak said the company intended to Ghana’s plans to import LNG have just received a
import LNG via a mix of long and short-term kick-start, with the Emerging Africa Infrastruc-
contracts to offset the risks posed by volatile ture Fund (EAIF) agreeing to provide a $31mn
pricing. The company may work with other LNG loan to a regasification scheme in the port of
importers to combine their supply contracts. Tema.

Week 48 03•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7