PTT Finalizes LNG Expansion Blueprint, Aiming for 15 Million Tons in Trade Volume by 2035

Recently, Thai state-owned energy giant PTT publicly released its medium-to-long-term energy trade development strategy, explicitly proposing to significantly expand the scale of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trade and planning to steadily increase market circulation volume. According to the plan, the company will push the annual LNG trading volume from the current 2 million tons to continuously expand to 15 million tons by 2035, representing a considerable growth magnitude.

PTT CEO Kongkrapan stated that the current global energy market faces a complex and volatile geopolitical situation, putting pressure on the stability of energy supply. Against this backdrop, the company has established a phased development goal, striving to break through 10 million tons in annual LNG trading volume by 2030 and successfully achieve the 15 million tons target by 2035. Meanwhile, the company will build an asset-bound operation model, relying on a diversified gas source layout to consolidate natural gas supply channels and mitigate market price fluctuations, thereby steadily advancing the domestic energy low-carbon transition process on the basis of guaranteeing Thailand's national energy security.

For a long time, indigenous gas production from the Gulf of Thailand has been the core support for the country's power generation, occupying an important position in the energy supply system. However, affected by the increase in resource extraction years, domestic natural gas reserves have decreased year by year, and self-sufficiency continues to weaken. According to statistical data from the Energy Policy and Planning Office of Thailand, Thailand's dependence on LNG imports has risen significantly; the proportion of LNG in the total domestic natural gas supply has surged from 2% in 2011 to 29% in 2024, indicating a notably increased reliance on external gas sources.

To cope with the decline of domestic gas sources and fill the energy supply gap, PTT continues to strengthen its global natural gas trade layout, accelerating the construction of a global gas source procurement network and broadening overseas import channels, enriching gas source origins, and comprehensively consolidating the foundation for domestic gas consumption security.

In addition to expanding the LNG trade map, vigorously deploying low-carbon emission reduction technologies has become another core focus of PTT's energy transition. The company is prioritizing the implementation of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) industry, relying on existing gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand to launch demonstration projects, and gradually increasing the regional carbon storage capacity to 1 million tons per year. By deeply integrating natural gas utilization with carbon capture and storage technologies, it aims to reshape a new model for clean energy utilization and facilitate the green and low-carbon upgrade of the industry.

Industry analysis points out that PTT's dual-track energy development strategy this time not only addresses the shortfall in domestic natural gas supply but also lays out the low-carbon track in advance, further consolidating Thailand's advantage as an LNG trade hub in Southeast Asia. It will also deeply drive regional natural gas trade circulation and the synergistic development of the low-carbon energy industry.