Bangkok--2 Nov--PTT 2 November 2007, Rama Gardens Hotel, Bangkok — H.E. Dr. Piyasvasti Amranand, Minister of Energy, today presided over the signing ceremony for the gas sales agreement (GSA) for the Chana power plant between PTT Plc and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) for the supply of natural gas to fuel the plant. The signatory parties were represented by Mr. Prasert Bunsumpun, PTT President, and Mr. Kraisi Karnasuta, EGAT Governor. In disclosing the essences of the accord, the PTT president said the national oil company had agreed to supply up to 114 billion Btu (British Thermal Units) daily of natural gas to EGAT. Gas from the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (JDA) would come ashore through the submarine pipeline belonging to Trans Thai-Malaysia (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and PTT’s onshore transmission pipeline system to fire the 730-megawatt Chana power plant in the province of Songkhla for 25 years. Effective May 2008, the GSA is worth 200 billion baht. In addition, PTT recognized the criticality of securing energy supplies for the Kingdom against the spiraling demand for energy while promoting the cost-effective use of clean energy to alleviate environmental impacts as well as global climate change, a current problem for the world. Securing the gas supply for this power plant, therefore, is a step toward promoting clean generation of power for the sake of surrounding communities. Equally important is the fact that each year Thailand would be saving about 920 million liters of fuel oil, or a total of 23 billion liters for the GSA period. The annual saving would be at least 7.2 billion baht or 180 billion baht for the GSA period. The EGAT governor, meanwhile, said that as a government agency, its main mission is to secure electrical power to meet the needs of domestic users at reasonable prices. He said today’s milestone represented such endeavor for the Southern Region, particularly the lower south, where electricity demand currently exceeded the supply capacity. The construction of this combined-cycle power plant is critical for supporting the continued national economic development, apart from reducing the cost of power generation for the nation as a whole and lowering its dependence on power imports, currently worth 2 billion baht a year. For this GSA, the total reduction would be about 50.4 billion baht, which would also foster power security and drive the national economy toward sustainable growth. The minister of energy said this event was essential to national energy security, as Thailand was taking another step toward power security and stability. He commended PTT on its ability to secure gas supplies to meet the demand of the power sector and downstream industrial sector, thereby alleviating the impacts of skyrocketing oil prices. The national oil company, he said, effectively supported government policies to promote indigenous energy production for the power, industrial, and transport sectors. He stressed the favorable qualities of natural gas — its clean combustion, environmental friendliness, and competitiveness with other alternative energy forms. Today’s signing between the two main agencies under the ministry, he concluded, represented a major step forward by the two in enhancing national energy security, which is vital for national economic development. Besides making the best use of indigenous energy resources, Thailand would save its foreign-currency payment otherwise needed for oil imports, whose prices are increasingly volatile worldwide. For more information, call the Public Relations Section Exploration, Production, and Gas Business Group PTT Plc Tel. 0-2537-3217 Fax 0-2537-3211