Thailand sets its sights on larger LNG share

Thai government looks to increase imports as gas reserves continue to slide

Thailand's newly elected coalition government, heading by former junta leader General Prayut Cham-o-cha, will look to significantly lift the proportion of natural gas in the country's energy mix, following the cabinet's approval of the amended Power Development Plan (PDP) at the end of April. Under the new PDP, the government aims to derive 53pc of the country's power from gas by 2037, an increase of 13 percentage points over the previous plan, 35pc from non-fossil fuels and 12pc from coal — reduced from 25pc in the previous plan. Efforts from the Thai authorities to build coal-fired power plants in southern Thailand have faced constant delays and domestic opposition. Greater LNG imports wil