Thailand's Energy Authorities Are Scrambling For Ideas To Avert Power Woes In April

[JDGRUEN]

Interesting, in that the world is suffering from massive oversupply of natural gas to the point it is presently not worth it financially to harvest yet this little glitch leaves Thailand down 25% on supply? No alternatives? Very strange.

There is no massive oversupply yet; irresponsible governments that are too lazy to develop sustainable energy sources are very busy with "fracking". It is ruining nature but it is cheap. Cheap is by definition always expensive and the world will get what it deserves: A Middle East that will not be able to keep it's citizens quiet, Russia that will feel threatened because it will not be able to sell it's energy anymore and we can count on more global warming with all its problems.

But your oversupply is for now a myth. You still need to get it from A to B and within a reasonable time frame. Liquified gas is too expensive. One would expected however that Thailand and or Burma would have had reservoirs where they could have stored gas that would last for at least a few weeks or months.

Fracking is not ruining anything ... those who listen to Hollywood to get educated in science always get it wrong. I have lived in one of the biggest natural gas fields in the USA for 11 years - over 4000 active gas wells in my county and 4000 more in adjacent counties and there is not any appreciable problem... This is the area where Fracking was born and perfected. Liberal - Leftist propaganda does not produce believable science just distortions.

Edited February 18, 2013 by JDGRUEN

[OzMick]

How about burning rice to generate electricity...kinda like burning coal to generate electricity. The govt has PLENTY of rice in storage due to the rice pledging scheme...and this would free-up precious storage space for this year's rice crop. And the govt could doctor the paperwork and say they really sold the rice to Myanmar.

I know you are joking, but the suggestion of alternate fuels begs a comment.

Some years back, highway construction in NSW saw huge piles of trees being burnt on the side of the new road. Some genius decided they should be chipped, trucked to the nearest power station where they would be burnt to generate electricity. Millions of dollars were spent for negligible return trying to burn green wood in a system (powdered fuel) designed for black coal. It might have worked on a chain grate boiler, but the last one shut down 20 years earlier.

[canman]

PPP. It is worrisome that the logistic & strategic planning of Thailands gas supply is not robust enough to deal with an 8 day shut down of two producing gas platforms. It is also worth mentioning that an 8 day shutdown was planned earlier this year. Not sure if that actually happened or was delayed until April. If delayed then it is not a suprise as it wasd known about in December.

"Reuters today cited Thailand’s PTT Pcl company as saying that the Yetagun gas field located in the Andaman Sea offshore Myanmar (Burma) will be shut for nine days for annual maintenance operations."

http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/myanmar-annual-maintenance-at-yetagun-gas-field/

[ExpatOilWorker]

Interesting, in that the world is suffering from massive oversupply of natural gas to the point it is presently not worth it financially to harvest yet this little glitch leaves Thailand down 25% on supply? No alternatives? Very strange.

There is no massive oversupply yet; irresponsible governments that are too lazy to develop sustainable energy sources are very busy with "fracking". It is ruining nature but it is cheap. Cheap is by definition always expensive and the world will get what it deserves: A Middle East that will not be able to keep it's citizens quiet, Russia that will feel threatened because it will not be able to sell it's energy anymore and we can count on more global warming with all its problems.

But your oversupply is for now a myth. You still need to get it from A to B and within a reasonable time frame. Liquified gas is too expensive. One would expected however that Thailand and or Burma would have had reservoirs where they could have stored gas that would last for at least a few weeks or months.

Fracking is not ruining anything ... those who listen to Hollywood to get educated in science always get it wrong. I have lived in one of the biggest natural gas fields in the USA for 11 years - over 4000 active gas wells in my county and 4000 more in adjacent counties and there is not any appreciable problem... This is the area where Fracking was born and perfected. Liberal - Leftist propaganda does not produce believable science just distortions.

That is music to my ears, Hydraulic Fracturing is a great technology and good fun to pump. I actually did the biggest Frac job in Latin america, 1,500,000 lbs of proppant.

[JetsetBkk]

Teaching people to use the thermostats on their ac would be a start.

I hope that includes farangs. The number of times someone I know changes the a/c setting using his dämn remote...

[cloghead]

PPP. It is worrisome that the logistic & strategic planning of Thailands gas supply is not robust enough to deal with an 8 day shut down of two producing gas platforms. It is also worth mentioning that an 8 day shutdown was planned earlier this year. Not sure if that actually happened or was delayed until April. If delayed then it is not a suprise as it wasd known about in December.

http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/myanmar-annual-maintenance-at-yetagun-gas-field/

Canman, that article in Offshore Energy was written in late December 2011 and stated the "maintenance" was planned for Dec 29th to Jan 6th 2012. It's now 2013. I apoligise if I didn't understand you...

What has me a bit worried is "Pongsak said the rig in Yanada field experienced destabilisation and needed to be fixed at its base on the seabed before the problem got worse. Therefore, Myanmar had decided that it would shut down the gas-supply system in both Yetagun and Yadana"

<deleted>? ."the rig in Yanada field experienced destabilisation and needed to be fixed at its base on the seabed". Now THAT is a serious problem. And it isn't a "rig" but a platform whose legs are are secured into the bottom by massive piles that extend deep into the seabed. If that (stabilisation) is actually the problem then fixing it is, by no stretch of the imagination, NOT planned maintenance...

So what is it? Probs with Yetugun or Yadana or both? I've read "platform repairs", "pipeline maintenance", yada yada yada (excuse the pun). If the entire ~650 klilometer-long line from Yadana platform to the Ratchaburi power plant needs to be pigged that's def going to take a good long while.

I really wish someone from the operators (TOTAL) or their partners (PTT & Chevron) would tell us what's really going down.

But I reckon that's too much to ask...

[Pimay1]

Teaching people to use the thermostats on their ac would be a start.

I hope that includes farangs. The number of times someone I know changes the a/c setting using his dämn remote...

Well my friend it ain't only foreigners. I go to sleep every night with the aircon set on 26. Many times when I wake up it is like an ice box in the room. Check the remote and it is on 18. Ask my old GF if she lowered the temp. Of course the answer is no. Must be the resident ghost.

Edited February 24, 2013 by Pimay1

[katana]

original article in op states:

PTT ready to use LNG reserves during Myanmar shutdown

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's energy authorities are scrambling for ideas to prevent a possible power shortage in April - the hottest month every year - as Myanmar is shutting down two gas fields that have supplied one-fourth of the Kingdom's natural gas demand.

Seems strange for Burma to do the shutdown in April, the hottest month of the year with presumably the highest energy demands from airconditioning.

The story may well turn out to be a lot of hot air though and exaggerated by the media, with more than enough gas supplies to last.