THAILAND is expected to kick off its long-delayed 21st bidding round for petroleum concessions around the middle of next year, Energy Minister General Anantaporn Kanjanarat said yesterday.
The drafts of amended petroleum laws have been submitted to the Cabinet's secretariat office and the Cabinet could consider them tomorrow or next Tuesday, he said.
The new laws will allow the energy authorities to consider using either concessions or production-sharing-contract (PSC) regimes, or both systems, to govern petroleum exploration and production activities, whereas the current laws only allow the concession system.
The 21st round of petroleum-concession bidding, the first since 2007, was cancelled last year because of opposition from some energy activists and non-governmental organisations who urged the adoption of the PSC regime, among many other things.
Of the 29 blocks up for auction, six are offshore in the Gulf of Thailand, and 23 are on land, mostly in the Northeast.