Thailand plans to develop a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Myanmar by 2018 to blend with gas resources used to feed its power sector in the western part of the country.
Energy Minister Narongchai Akrasanee said his ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Myanmar Electric Power Ministry and state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise in Nay Pyi Taw for joint development of petroleum and power resources.
The first project to develop an FSRU will be led by national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc.
Mr Narongchai said the project was aimed at securing Myanmar gas supplies to Thailand, especially when supplies were disrupted.
The plan also aims to reduce gas quality disruption, as the gas-fired plant in Ratchaburi province, which receives gas from Myanmar to produce power for western Thailand, is designed to used a fixed specification of gas from Myanmar.
Gas from the Yadana, Yetakun and Zawtika resource blocks in Myanmar accounts for 20% of Thailand's gas consumption. But disruptions have been frequent in recent years due largely to maintenance shutdown.
Moreover, the volume of gas from these three blocks will decrease, as Myanmar needs more gas for its rising domestic demand.
A PTT report said the FSRU was expected to cost US$400 million excluding a pipeline that would transmit 3 million tonnes of gas a year from Kanbauk or Dawei to Thailand's main pipeline.
Mr Narongchai said Myanmar had abundant energy resources such as coal, hydropower and petroleum that would be developed for its own rising demand and to supply Thailand.
Gas-rich Myanmar supplies 4,581 megawatts or one-sixth of Thai power demand, while only 35% of Myanmar citizens can access power generated from their country's own resources.
Meanwhile, Thailand will continue with plans to increase tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the transport sector to make the levy equivalent to those charged for other fuels and to be fair to all motorists.
But Mr Narongchai said the tax increase would be limited only to the transport sector, while the tax on LPG for industry and households would remain unchanged.