Nine firms pass pre-bidding process for new petroleum projects in Gulf of Thailand

BANGKOK, May 28 (TNA) - The Ministry of Energy says there are nine companies that have passed a pre-bidding screening process for new concessionary petroleum exploration and production projects in the Gulf of Thailand. Veerasak Pungrassamee, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Mineral Fuels, told journalists of the update on Monday, stating that five companies have passed the qualification screening process, set during May 15-16, for their bidding of the exploration and production of petroleum in the G1/61 source, or the Erawan source, and four others have passed for their bidding of the exploration and production of petroleum in the G2/61 source, or the Bongkot source. According to the senior official, the five companies that have passed the pre-bidding process for the G1/61 source, or the Erawan source, include Chevron Thailand Holdings Ltd., PTTEP Energy Development Company Limited, MP G2 (Thailand) Limited, Total E&P Thailand and OMV Aktiengesellschaft; while the other four companies that have passed the pre-bidding process for the G2/61 source, or the Bongkot source, include Chevron Thailand Holdings Ltd., PTTEP Energy Development Company Limited, MP L21 (Thailand) Limited and OMV Aktiengesellschaft. The senior official revealed that qualifications set for companies applying for the pre-bidding screening process included having shareholder’s equity of at least 4 billion US dollars during 2016-2017 for all of those seeking for the bidding of the G1/61 block and at least 2 billion US dollars during the same period for those seeking for the bidding of the G2/61 block and all must have experiences in offshore gas field operations at least one source during the two-year period when the average sale volumes of each of them must stand at least 100 million cubic feet per day. Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary for Energy Thammayos Srichuay told reporters that the announcement of the list of comapnies passing the pre-bidding process has been posted on the official website of the Department of Mineral Fuels, together with other required steps set to be completedly done by them by September 25, 2018, before the announcement of the bidding date will be officially disseminated. (TNA)