The Na Sanoon oil field in Phetchabun's Wichian Buri district is the latest oil find in Thailand (See photo on right).
The Canadian company Pan Orient surveyed for oil in the area many years ago but did not find enough oil to make drilling worthwhile.
As oil prices have risen recently, the value of the oil in these fields has also risen and Pan Orient has now drilled a total of 26 oil wells in Wichian Buri and at other sites in nearby Sithep, searching for the best oil fields.
Oil exploration at onshore sites like Wichian Buri tends to attract small foreign firms like Pan Orient. Other onshore oil fields include Lan Krabue field in Kamphaeng Phet Phet and fields in Fang, Chiang Mai. Oil exploration is also planned in the future at Arunothai oil field at Kong Krailat near Sukhothai. There are also plans for oil exploration in Suphan Buri and Nakhon Sawan.
The new oil fields near Sukhothai could produce as many as 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day. This compares favorably with the Sirikit oil field in Kamphaeng Phet which produces about 18,000 to 19,000 barrels per day and is one of the highest producing oil fields in Thailand.
Chevron is the largest oil producer in Thailand with 75% of production in 2006. Important oil fields in Thailand include Chevron’s Benchamas, Pailin, and Fiel fields, as well as PTTEP’s Bongkot and Sirikit fields. Chevron does a lot of offshore drilling in Thailand (See details). Chevron also discovered oil reserves in waters off of Cambodia in 2005. Negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia are still ongoing on how this oil should be divided.
Supply from domestic oil fields in Thailand only covers 30% of Thailand's demand for oil. Oil has to be imported from other countries to cover the remaining 70% of oil demand. As oil prices continue to rise, sites that once were not worth drilling will become more attractive (See comparison of Thailand's oil production and consumption).
(Source: Bangkok Post, @Thailand, 19-07-08, temp-link)
survey for oil, oil exploration - examine and make geological measurements at places searching for oil (See Wikipedia) การสำรวจหาแหล่งน้ำมัน worthwhile - worth doing (not waste of time) คุ้มค่า find enough oil to make drilling worthwhile
an oil well - the machine that moves back and forth pumping oil from under the ground (See Wikipedia) พบว่ามีน้ำมันมากพอคุ้มแก่การขุดเจาะและผลิตในเชิงเศรษฐกิจ drill an oil well - create a long and deep hole in the ground searching for oil and later extracting oil or natural gas from oil reservoirs under the ground (See Wikipedia on drilling rig) ขุดและสำรวจหาแหล่งน้ำมัน Sithep - an ancient city in Petchabun province oil fields - "a region with many oil wells extracting petroleum (crude oil) from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area. In addition, there may be exploratory wells probing the edges, pipelines to transport the oil elsewhere, and support facilities" (See Wikipedia on oil field and world's largest oil fields) แหล่งน้ำมัน
onshore - on land บนภาคพื้่นดิน offshore - in the ocean นอกชายฝั่ง ในมหาสมุทร sites - places where an activity is done (here extract oil) สถานที่ขุดเจาะน้ำมัน onshore sites - locations on land where with activity การขุดเจาะน้ำมันในภาคพื้นทวีป offshore drilling - drilling for oil from a platform at sea การขุดเจาน้ำมันในทะเล X compares favorably with Y - (แหล่งน้ำมันแหล่งใหม่นี้) มีความสามารถในการผลิตได้เป็นอย่างที่น่าพอใจเมื่อเปรียบเทียบกับแหล่งเก่าคือ บ่อน้ำมันสิริกิตต์
Chevron - the world's fifth largest global energy company. Headquartered in San Ramon, California, USA and active in more than 180 countries, it is engaged in every aspect of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. Chevron is one of the world's six "supermajor" oil companies (See Wikipedia) บริษัท เชฟรอน จำกัด เป็นบริษัทด้านพลังงานหนึ่งในห้าบริษัทที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในโลก PTTEP - the oil and gas exploration subsidiary of PTT, the large Thai state-owned SET-listed oil and gas company (See Wikipedia on PTT) ปตทสส บริษัท ปตท. สำรวจและผลิตปิโตรเลียม จำกัด (มหาชน) offshore drilling - drilling for oil from a platform in the sea การขุดเจาะน้ำมันในทะเล
reserves - a supply of something available for use when needed สำรอง oil reserves - a supply of oil for future use (See Wikipedia) น้ำมันสำรอง negotiations - formal discussions between two sides with different goals to reach an agreement and compromise การเจรจาต่อรอง
