BANGKOK: Thailand imported 1.09 million b/d of crude and condensate in March, an increase of 9.7% year on year, Customs Department data released Tuesday showed.
The country’s crude imports rose 10.6% year on year to 1.06 million b/d in March, from 957,407 b/d a year ago.
Key suppliers of crude oil to Thailand last month included UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Thailand imported 34,373 b/d of condensate in the month, down 11.8% year on year, mainly from Australia and the Philippines.
In the first three months of this year, the kingdom imported 964,826 b/d of crude and condensate, up 11.9% from the same period in 2017. Its crude oil imports rose 13.9% year on year to 934,556 b/d, while its condensate imports fell 27.6% year on year to 30,269 b/d.
Thailand produced 139,355 b/d of crude oil in the first two months of this year, down 9.3% year on year, with a sharp decline from three oilfields in the Gulf of Thailand. Production from the Nasaun fell 40% year on year to 1,721 b/d, Songkhla’s production declined 25.4% year on year to 7,564 b/d and production at Tantawan tumbled 21.5% year on year to 20,881 b/d.
Its condensate output in the first two months of this year, however, surged 10.5% year on year to 104,264 b/d, with the major increase coming from two gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand. Output at Erawan rose 8.9% year on year to 48,663 b/d, while that of Pailin climbed 32.7% year on year to 17,931 b/d, the Energy Policy and Planning Office data released April 12 showed.