Thailand Country Report

Supit Kamalad, Vichien Tantiwisarn and Dr. Surasit Tanthadiloke

Chapter 16 in Energy Outlook and Energy Saving Potential in East Asia 2023, pp 359 -386 from Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)

Abstract: Thailand is in the middle of the Southeast Asian mainland, with the Pacific Ocean on the southeast coast, and the Indian Ocean on the southwest coast. Its land area is approximately 513,115 square kilometres, with great plains at the centre, mountainous areas up north, and highlands in the northeast. Its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 was around $460.8 billion (in constant 2015 US$). In 2019, the population was 69.6 million and income per capita was around $6,620. Thailand is an energy importer, especially crude oil, because of its very limited domestic oil resources. Thailand’s indigenous energy resources include natural gas, coal (only lignite), and biomass. In 2019, proven reserves were 15.0 million cubic metres of oil and 0.14 trillion cubic metres of natural gas. Thailand’s total primary energy supply (TPES) reached 133.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2019. Oil accounted for the largest share at around 30.8%, followed by natural gas at 29.7%, and coal at 13.9%. ‘Others’, which includes the commercial and residential sectors, accounted for the remaining 25.6%. In 2019, net imports of energy accounted for 56% of the TPES. Due to very limited indigenous oil and coal resources, Thailand imported around 79% of its oil and most of its bituminous coal. Although Thailand produces large quantities of natural gas, it imported about 28% from Myanmar and other countries. Thailand uses natural gas as a major energy source for power generation. In 2019, primary natural gas supply registered at 28.6 Mtoe, around 72% of which was sourced from domestic supplies and the rest imported from neighbouring countries. Coal was mainly used for power generation, but it was also heavily used in industrial cement and paper production. Thailand has 45.3 gigawatts (GW) of installed electricity generation capacity. In 2019, power generation was about 201.8 TWh. Most of Thailand’s power came from thermal generation (coal, natural gas, and oil), which accounted for 82.8% of generation. Hydro contributed 10.1% to the generation mix, while the remaining portion was made up of geothermal, solar, small hydro, and biomass.

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