Press Release

Bangkok, 15th November 2016 – Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the opening ceremony of the 10th Edition of the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC), which is being hosted by PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited, or PTTEP, at Centara Grand hotel and Bangkok Convention Centre, CentralWorld, Bangkok.

Present to greet HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn were General Anantaporn Kanjanarat, Minister of Energy, Mr. Piyasvasti Amranand, Chairman of PTT Public Company Limited, Mr. Prajya Pinyawat, Chairman of the Board of PTTEP, Mr. Tevin Vongvanich, President and CEO of PTT Public Company Limited on behalf of IPTC Honourable Advisor to the Executive Committee, Mr. Somporn Vongvuthipornchai, President and CEO of PTTEP on behalf of IPTC Executive Committee Chairman, Mr. David Blanchard, Chairman of the Board of IPTC, along with the IPTC committee and executives of PTTEP in attendance. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn also visited the exhibition in the conference.

Today’s highlight is the announcement of IPTC Excellence in Project Integration Award, which was decided by IPTC comittee, to present the award to TOTAL’s Laggan and Tormore fields, offshore West of the Shetland Islands, UK. The project was executed using new technologies to overcome the harsh environment.  Interesting innovations saw new methods of environmental protection deployed on a huge scale.

General Anantaporn also gave a keynote speech on the energy challenges in Thailand, especially petroleum, which is a vital factor driving the Thai economy and enhancing the country’s competitiveness. It has been almost 40 years since the first natural gas was produced from Erawan Field and successive discoveries of gas and oil fields, both offshore and onshore, including the Greater Bongkot and Arthit operated by PTTEP. Our own produced natural gas accounts for more than half of National Gas Supply. This not only enriches the security of supply, but also relieves the public cost-burden due to volatile prices of imported energy resources.

However, at present the Ministry and the industry have been jointly working to overcome many challenges such as low oil price crisis and uncertain global economic situation. Extensive expertise, technical capabilities and continuous innovation have proved to be the key. The security of energy supply is still on top of the government agenda. Newly developed technology and innovation for efficiency improvement are clearly stated in government Thailand 4.0 Policy. With this policy, innovation, technology and creativity would help the nation to transform towards a knowledge-based society and value-based economy, which requires less resources to create more value. Therefore, Thailand in the 21st century can thrive through security, prosperity and sustainability. Gen. Anantaporn reiterated that IPTC is a great opportunity for participants to exchange their ideas and experiences, as well as opportunities for collaboration on innovation and efficiency improvement, delivering a win-win solution for the industry and the country.

In addition to the technical conference, IPTC also hosts an exhibition displaying numerous interesting innovations and technologies from over 30 oil and gas companies worldwide, including PTTEP. PTTEP exhibited projects and innovations in energy inspired by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the exhibition titled “The Father of Thai Energy Development”, as well as a zone for “PTTP Group Business Value Chain”, which will show the connected work processes of the 7 companies in PTT Group’s operations covering the business value chain from upstream to downstream, with its commitment to the continuous improvement of innovation and technology to provide energy security for the country. Additionally, the exhibition will contain exhibits of the latest technology from global companies, such as PETRONAS, Halliburton Energy Services Inc., China National Petroleum Corporation, Qatar Petroleum, Kuwait Oil Company, and Schlumberger.

The technology PTTEP showcase at this event is the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle or AUV, developed by Thai people, for its exploration and production activities, which will increase the inspection capabilities, reduce cost, as well as improve safety. Furthermore, the event shows the work of students that have attended an Education Days and Teacher Days, one of the activities of IPTC, in which high school students from 20 schools nationwide were selected to participate. As a part of a competition, those students will exhibit their science projects and 3D mini models related to the energy conservation and security for our country, and an environmentally and ecologically friendly community. The winning school will receive a scholarship and a trophy from PTTEP.

The 10th Edition of International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) is taking place from today until the 16th November 2016 at Centara Grand hotel and Bangkok Convention Centre, CentralWorld, Bangkok. We would like to invite students who are studying geology and engineering and professionals in the petroleum industry to visit the exhibition and to join this event for free. For more details, please visit www.iptcnet.org/2016/index.php and www.facebook.com/pttepplc