JDA project to proceed on schedule

JDA project to proceed on schedule

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Development of the natural gas reserves
in the Joint Development Area (JDA) of Thailand and Malaysia will
proceed on schedule, although other elements of a regional gas
pipeline network have been delayed, Savit Bhotivihok, Thailand's
minister to the prime minister's office, said Saturday in
Singapore.

Savit, Thailand's representative at a meeting of energy
ministers from member nations of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, spoke to reporters after the close of the meeting.

At the meeting, according to the released agenda, the
ministers reviewed Asean's current electricity and gas
cooperation projects. Although Savit wouldn't go into details of
the morning's discussion, he said "there were no surprises this
morning."

"Certainly, with the slowdown in the economies of Asean,
they've been contracting a lot, the demand for energy has
reduced, and therefore many of the investment plans for further
investments in the power sector or in the energy sector have
(been affected), and there is a need for review," he said.

The economic crisis has pushed completion of the trans-Asean
gas grid to beyond 2010, Muri Muhammad, vice president of
Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd (P.PET), said last month,
because the most important link in the grid - from the Natuna gas
field to Thailand - has been delayed due to budget cuts in
Thailand.

"But, I think the basic (JDA) pipe system will go ahead
according to schedule," said Savit, "because there are concrete
plans related to the gas utilization in the south of Thailand
such as the development of the gas separation plants as well as
the linkage to the Malaysian system."

Gas from the JDA is scheduled to start supplying both
countries in 2001.