Thailand imported 89,728 mt, a single cargo of LNG, in September after importing 62,628 mt in August, according to data from Thai Customs' website Thursday.
The cargo was sourced from Qatar, aboard the 4.5-Bcf (92,400 mt) Al Nuaman, and was sold at $648.17/mt ($12.46/MMBtu). In comparison, the average price of the August cargo from Yemen was $926.19/mt ($17.81/MMBtu).
Since losing incremental Yemeni supplies due to a terrorist attack in July, which stopped production in the country, deliveries to Thailand have slowed considerably.
Further attacks over the summer on Yemen LNG's gas pipeline have continued to hamper production at the Balhaf liquefaction plant in Shabwa, forcing Thailand to look to other countries for its LNG.
Yemen continues to send volumes to Thailand when its liquefaction plant is operational, with one cargo delivered aboard the 3.55 Bcf Arwa Spirit last Friday, Platts shipping software cTrack showed.
Thailand's PTT issued a buy tender August 15 seeking two cargoes for delivery in September and October, and this September-delivered Qatari cargo was probably purchased on the spot market by PTT.
Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that imports LNG. Malaysia and Singapore are scheduled to import LNG in 2013, in Melaka and Jurong Island respectively. While Indonesia has a functional import and regasification capability, Indonesia sources the LNG for its regasification plant from its own domestic LNG production.
Thailand's 5 million mt/year LNG terminal in Map Ta Phut, Rayong commenced operations in May last year.
In the first nine months of the calendar year, Thailand has imported 752,868 mt of LNG.
