Round 21 of the country's petroleum exploration and production (E&P) is scheduled to open soon after the government completes the new bids for the Erawan and Bongkot gas fields by next February, says the Mineral Fuels Department.
Premrutai Vinaiphat, director-general of the department, said licences for round 21 should be granted in the second half of 2019.
Round 21 has been delayed since October 2014 when Thailand faced an unstable political situation and an economic slowdown. Many advocates called for a delay and revision of the country's petroleum laws from an E&P concession to a production-sharing contract.
In June 2017, two revised laws -- the Petroleum Act and Petroleum Income Tax Act -- were enacted.
In 2018, energy policymakers opened bids for the Erawan and Bongkot gas fields.
"The department is preparing the round 21 process before making the announcement for interested investors next year, after the country's general election in February," said Mrs Premrutai.
"The number of petroleum blocks granted licences will be selected and decided by policymakers at the same time."
The department's announcement on round 21 in 2014 stated there are 29 petroleum blocks nationwide. Of those, 23 blocks are onshore, while six are offshore fields in the Gulf of Thailand.
But the on-shore petroleum blocks were a source of conflict between state agencies for land development, city planning and forest conservation as most locations are key sites for agricultural reform, forest conservation and historic conservation.
In the Energy Ministry's annual report in 2017, the conflicts became serious obstacles after PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) was ordered to suspend crude oil production in the onshore Sirikit field in Kamphaeng Phet province.
Six other E&P firms were also ordered to stop production as the E&P blocks were located in agricultural reform areas.
Before that, 20 firms granted licences to develop and operate wind power farms in 2016 also suspended construction projects for agricultural reforms.
In 2015, the power projects for waste-to-energy sites were located in residential areas where construction was not permitted.
The obstacles were resolved under Section 44, as ordered by the National Council for Peace and Order.
Mrs Premrutai said the department is planning to overhaul all conflicts that are obstacles for new E&P activities by integrating all projects among relevant state agencies.
She added the department also expects the smooth operation of gas production in the Erawan and Bongkot fields after the ongoing concession ends in 2022 and 2023, respectively and the new bids will shift to production sharing contracts.
PTTEP won both bids for these gas fields and the contract signing will be held in February, 2019.
"The department expects to make a smooth transition from the concession to production sharing contract without any interruptions, which is important as the Erawan and Bongkot fields supply the majority of the country's gas," said Mrs Premrutai.
She said the department will allow PTTEP to explore gas holes around Erawan, now operated by US-based Chevron, but PTTEP is prohibited for interrupting gas production. The department is also familiar with production-sharing contracts as many staff are working with the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area under this model.
