National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc is planning to strengthen investments in large-scale hydrogen energy development to serve industries, notably power generation, which increasingly require cleaner fuels.
The company will join hands with business partners to invest overseas and prepare to seek a new opportunity to develop the hydrogen business in Thailand.
"Hydrogen has the potential to replace natural gas used as a fuel in power plants as it emits less carbon dioxide, aligning with the carbon neutrality campaign," said Kongkrapan Intarajang, president and chief executive of PTT.
Carbon neutrality, a balance between carbon dioxide emissions and absorption, is central to global efforts to deal with climate change.
New hydrogen investment projects will be carried out through PTT's petroleum drilling arm, PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP), which specialises in overseas investments, including those carried out in cooperation with oil and gas companies.
PTTEP is looking for new investment opportunities in the Middle East and India, said Mr Kongkrapan.
PTTEP earlier announced that it is jointly investing in the production of green hydrogen in Oman. Green hydrogen, which is used to fuel power generation and manufacturing processes, is produced by using electricity made from renewable energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.
Arthit gas block, operated by PTTEP, in the Gulf of Thailand. The company not only invests in carbon capture technology there, but will also seek new business opportunities to develop hydrogen energy in a move to promote clean fuels.
PTT's move to boost investments in hydrogen fuels is in line with Thailand's 2024 power development plan, which promotes greater use of renewable power. Under the plan, roughly 5% of gas used as a fuel will be replaced by hydrogen.
In addition to green hydrogen, PTT is interested in blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas. Carbon dioxide emissions during the hydrogen-making process are captured by carbon capture and storage technology.
"PTT is conducting a study on hydrogen fuel for power plants. We have yet to work on a hydrogen project for cars, which use a smaller amount of hydrogen," said Ratthakorn Kampanathsanyakorn, PTT's senior executive vice-president for corporate sustainability.
"Our plan is we want to start with large-scale hydrogen projects to serve growing demand in the power industry."
PTT is considering a plan to invest in liquefied ammonia storage tank development as ammonia can be used to produce hydrogen, said Mr Ratthakorn.
The chemical form of ammonia is packed with energy density, almost twice that of liquid hydrogen. Ammonia can also be shipped and distributed more easily than liquid hydrogen.
PTT is allocating 55 billion baht to support its business expansion between 2025 and 2029, with the largest portion of the money going to its gas business.
The company wants to enhance its liquefied natural gas trading and will improve its petrochemical business and oil refinery, carried out by three of its subsidiaries -- IRPC Plc, PTT Global Chemical Plc and Thai Oil Plc.
"Many foreign companies are interested in partnering with these three subsidiaries. We expect their deals with new investors to be completed in 2025," said Mr Kongkrapan.
Mr Kongkrapan sees hydrogen offering an opportunity to fuel PTT's growth.