Thailand joins Gastech 2014

SOUTH KOREA, March 24 (TNA) - Leading energy firms from Thailand and other countries worldwide are joining brainstorming ideas at the Gastech 2014 Conference & Exhibition in South Korea to cope with competition for natural gas, as its market demand is soaring in Asia. At the Gastech 2014 Conference & Exhibition, held in South Korea's Goyang City from March 24-27, the international delegations are discussing solutions to the issue. The conference, in which over 1,000 world delegates participate, including those from PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), focuses on ways to meet natural gas demand in Asia, as market demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia and the Pacific is expected to rise by 2.7 per cent yearly from 2014 to 2035, or from 9 million tons in 2015 to 47 million tons in 2020 and 85 million tons in 2025, prompting regional economies depending heavily on natural gas to hurriedly find more gas sources. In Asia, Japan is the largest LNG importer, followed by South Korea, with their total LNG imports accounting for 70 per cent of worldwide LNG supplies. Meanwhile, Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF), a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), Thailand's leading agro-industrial conglomerate, announced that the company is reducing its energy demand in accordance with the Thai Ministry of Energy's policy. CPF Vice President Suvit Praphakamol acknowledged that 34 energy-saving measures have been applied at CPF's plant in Baan Phru of Hat Yai District in Songkhla Province in the Thai South, where aquatic animal feeds are produced, and has consequently cut its energy cost by 33.9 million baht annually. According to the CPF vice president, the measures include the application of innovations and modern technology in its production and the company also plans to find cheap and environmentally-friendly energy, while transfering its energy-saving knowledge to communities and educational institutes as well.(TNA)