B.Grimm Power Public Company Ltd. became the third independent Thai company to receive an LNG import licence, a the government is taking steps to liberalise the power and gas sector and increased LNG import volumes to ensure a stable supply of electricity.
The regulator in May awarded a license to B.Grimm Power to import 650,000 tonnes of LNG imports per annum to feed its existing five gas-fired power plants.
The Thai state oil company PTT previous had a monopoly on LNG imports until the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) was given a licence in 2019, and in the following three further licences were awarded to B.Grimm Power, the Ratch Group and Gulf Energy Development .
Plans to build more LNG-fuelled power units
Preeyanart Soontornwata, President of B.Grimm Power said “we have new gas-fired power plants, [so] we have a right to ask for a new shipping licence for additional natural gas volumes.”
She was speaking as a land lease agreement was signed for a sixth gas power plant and water cooling venture linked to the new U-Tapao International Airport and Eastern Airport City Development Project. The U-Tapao project will see B.Grimm power operate a 95 MW hybrid plant, powered by natural gas and solar PV.
Plans also foresee the construction of a new, wholly-owned LNG import unit for procuring and delivering the fuel to the power plants. The five new power units under construction have a combined capacity of 700 MW, and B.Grimm aims to start importing LNG as early as 2022.
Gulf Energy to also import more LNG
The Thai energy regulator in May also approved Gulf Energy’s application to import 0.3 million tons of LNG for use in 19 small-scale power plants, operated by the state-owned utility EGAT. T
Gulf Energy Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Yupapin Wangviwat, said the regulator approved a licence for the amount to 1.4 million tons per year, to be used as a fuel for electricity production for Hin Kong Power Project with capacity of 1,400 MW. The plant is located in the Hin Kong subdistrict in Ratchaburi province and is expected to commence commercial operation in 2024 and 2025.
The licence awards to both B.Grimm Power and Gulf Energy support Thailand’s plans to increase imports of LNG, taking advantage from the current low prices in an oversupplied market to shift the Thai power mix from coal to gas generation.
Second train underway at Map Ta Phut LNG
Currently, B. Grimm Power’s cargoes are delivered to the Map Ta Phut LNG import terminal in Rayong. Adjacent to that first train, a second LNG import terminal with capacity of 7.5 mtpa is under construction and is expected to start operations by 2022. A third expansion is in the design phase and undergoing a feasibility study.
As one of Thailand’s leading independent power producers, B.Grimm has already developed several small-scale plants whose entire electricity output is sold to the state grid operator.
All these plants are situated in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) which comprises the three provinces Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao. The government wants to develop the EEC into a hub of high-tech industries with the added development of logistics and aviation services.