Thailand’s LNG readies for commercial transformation

The start of private LNG imports may trigger an evolution in the country’s policy of energy security to encompass commercial exploitation

Bangkok-based conglomerate B. Grimm in August 2024 became the first private company in Thailand to import LNG, with a cargo of 65,000t. The country’s Energy Regulatory Commission had authorised the firm as one of seven LNG importers in 2020, ending the previous monopoly of state-owned oil and gas company PTT. The imports are a “starting point” for the modernisation of the PTT-dominated system, which has historically made Thailand’s energy security its exclusive priority, Andrew Kirk, executive director for LNG at B. Grimm Power in Bangkok, said in an interview. “It is on the government’s radar to make changes.” Private importers such as B. Grimm must obtain government approval for their bids