Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s petrochemical industry may lose billions of dollars if the government fails to strike an agreement with neighboring Cambodia on overlapping claims in the Gulf of Thailand, Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said.
“Thailand is running out of gas in 15 years,” he said in an interview in Bangkok today. “Petrochemical companies rely on components of wet gas from the Gulf of Thailand. Billions of dollars every year will be gone if we can’t get more supply.”
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s two-month-old government has sought to mend ties with Cambodia after gun battles in disputed border areas killed more than 20 people since 2008. Waters claimed by both countries contain enough gas to secure Thailand’s supply for 50 years, Pichai said.
Development in the 26,000 square kilometers, more than twice the size of Qatar, has stalled for more than three decades. It will take at least 10 years to pump gas out of the ground after a political agreement is reached, a process that is now underway, Pichai said.
“At this moment it looks very positive,” said Pichai, 49. “We want to get it done and Cambodia wants to get it done. We just need to make sure internal politics won’t be an obstacle.”
--Editors: Patrick Harrington, Tony Jordan
2 comments:
Its better to make deals with thailand then the vietcong who millions and millions in cambodia.
NEVER FORGET THAT WE LIVE BETWEEN A CROCODILE AND A TIGER, VETNAM BEING A CROCODILE AND SIAM BEING A TIGER. BOTH OF THEM CONSTANTLY WAIT FOR FAVORABLE OPPORTUNITIES TO
SWALLOW US. TRUST NONE OF THEM.
SI ENG KRUY
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