Thailand, Mozambique to ink deal on energy cooperation

BANGKOK, February 8 (TNA) - Thailand and Mozambique will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy cooperation in the near future, with PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), the Kingdom's petroleum giant, and the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to be major Thai parties to invest in the African country. Visiting Mozambique Mineral Resources Minister Esperance Bias discussed the cooperation with Thai Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal in Bangkok on Friday, as PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), a subsidiary of PTT, has a petroleum production joint venture in Mozambique by acquiring shares in Cove Energy. Thailand and Mozambique will, within the next few months, sign the MOU, under which Thailand will train Mozambique personnel on the energy business; while PTT and the EGAT will invest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, power plants and petrochemical plants in the African nation and ship the energy products back to Thailand to be used as raw materials. The visiting Mozambique Minister and his entourage will, on February 9, visit the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Thailand's eastern Rayong province, where natural gas production has been successfully developed for natural interest. Mozambique has the total population of about 22 million and possesses the world's highest natural gas reserves of some 60 trillion cubic feet, 8 million cubic feet of which has been domestically used daily. The African country has also exported about 22,000 barrels of oil daily. Mozambique's gas deposits are basin-shaped and their exploration costs are, thus, low because the task requires drills of only three kilometers deep. PTTEP has acquired an 8.5 per cent stake, worth about 60 billion baht, in Cove Energy’s operation in the Rovuma Offshore Area 1 with gas reserves detected at about 5 trillion cubic feet and its production expected to start approximately in 2018-2019. The Thai energy minister, meanwhile, told reporters that the visiting Mozambique Minister love Thai food and she was served a dessert dish of mango, glutinous rice and coconut milk during their meeting. (TNA)