On March 4, Thailand’s government ordered the Ministry of Energy to secure new energy sources within a week to reduce the nation’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil.
The directive follows the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, after the Feb. 28 bombing of Iran by the U.S. and Israel. Iran closed the strategic waterway as a direct response to the military strikes, blocking a major chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Approximately 30% of Thailand’s LNG and 50% of its crude oil passes through this strait.
Officials initially said Thailand had a 61-day fuel reserve, but Deputy Prime Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn clarified that total reserves can last 90 days when including supplies that don’t come via the strait. To bridge the immediate gap, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved an urgent purchase of three additional one-time LNG shipments for March and April.
To manage the energy crisis, the government has also ordered coal-fired power plants to operate at full capacity. In addition, it has instructed PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company PTT, to maximize domestic gas production in the Gulf of Thailand. Experts warn these measures threaten Thailand’s updated emissions reduction pledge under the Paris climate agreement, which commits to a 47% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
“They can say that this is a temporary measure that’s [being used] for this crisis,” Jamas Kositvichaya, Asia communications associate for the Global Strategic Communications Council (GSCC), told Mongabay by phone. She noted that Thailand’s climate strategy tends to rely on emission cuts in the agriculture sector while largely ignoring the energy sector’s continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Thailand is looking toward partners including Malaysia and the United States to help stabilize its energy grid, but Kositvachaya said LNG imported from the U.S. is more expensive than Middle Eastern supplies. Independent energy expert Tara Buakamsri said the shift to these new energy sources can carry a heavy economic price. In an op-ed for Climate Connectors, he wrote that “having enough fuel” is not the same as “having stable prices.”
Buakamsri said these higher procurement costs are expected to be passed on to consumers, potentially driving household electricity bills back to the record highs last seen in late 2024.
As the one-week deadline for new supply contracts approaches, the crisis highlights what Buakamsri called a “structural vulnerability.” Rather than transitioning to resilient domestic sources of renewable energy, he wrote, Thailand’s current strategy remains focused on chasing “molecules — crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and liquefied fossil gas (LNG) — across oceans whenever global geopolitics shift.”
Banner image: The large Mae Moh coal burning power plant releasing smoke from its stacks in the early morning. The power plant turns off the smoke in the morning then starts again at night. ©️ Luke Duggleby / Greenpeace, shot in 2013 of the coal power plant in Mae Moh district, Lampang province, North of Thailand.
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