The bill will be debated in the second and final readings today, while the vote is likely to be a close call as many NLA members are awaiting more clarification on contentious points in the bill.

The People’s Network for Thai Energy Reform yesterday insisted that the proposed national oil company was necessary for managing the country’s oil and gas assets after existing concessions expire.

The network said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who on Tuesday publicly rejected the proposal, had misunderstood the network’s key message in protecting national interests in the energy sector, which have long been exploited by private multinational companies.

Rosana Tositrakul, a leader of the network, said members would jointly submit a petition to the NLA president today to demand a specific timeline in the amendment to the Petroleum Act for the establishment of a national oil company.

Unless the bill clearly states when a national oil company will be established, the network planned to oppose the amendment’s passage in its second and final readings.

Rosana and other network leaders, including former finance minister Thirachai Phuvanartnalanuban and Panthep Paupongpan, said the national oil company proposal was initiated by an NLA committee on energy reform with the objective of increasing national benefits from exploration and production of indigenous oil and gas resources.

The NLA committee report highlighted the need for a new national oil company to take over the management of assets once existing concessions end.

The report stated that the Erawan and Bongkot gas concessions would expire in 2022 and 2023, respectively. If the new “production sharing contract” is used following the expiration, the government would need a national oil company to manage national assets and financial interests, which amount to Bt200 billion each year, it concluded.

‘Thorough study’

Panthep said the state-owned PTT plc was not the right entity to do the work because it had many private-sector shareholders, even though the Finance Ministry is PTT’s largest shareholder.

NLA President Pornpetch Wichitcholchai said members would deliberate on the bill to iron out differences.

General Akanit Muensawat, spokesman of the NLA committee on energy affairs, which is responsible for revising the Petroluem Act, insisted that the provision on the establishment of a national oil company would follow a thorough study and was in the national interest.

Akanit was previously named as one of six retired generals behind the push for a national oil company.

He said the energy sector used only the concession method to manage oil and gas resources, while other countries use production sharing and service outsourcing methods. All three methods, including concessions, should be considered in the future, he said.

The military would not be directly involved in the establishment since it would be under the Energy Ministry’s jurisdiction, he said, despite earlier reports that the Defence Department would have a role. The current bill only stated that such a national oil company should be set up when appropriate without a specific timeframe.

Critics such as former deputy premier MR Pridiyathorn Devakula have said they are worried the proposed national oil company would set back the energy sector and its vast financial interests would be abused.