Statism strengthens its hand upstream

摘要

The award last month of Thailand’s expiring Erawan and Bongkot natural gas concessions to state-controlled PTTEP over competitor Chevron is emblematic of how upstream resources are increasingly being exploited in southeast Asia. For PTTEP, being chosen to take over Erawan from Chevron and remain operator of Bongkot when production-sharing contracts expire in 2022 and 2023, respectively, marks a key victory in the company’s strategy of securing domestic gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand, and adding value through cost efciency. For Chevron, the Thai auction was a chance to bolster a fading presence in southeast Asia. The major instead lost a concession at a key block in the region to a state-run rival for the second time in six months.