How Thailand’s gas bet is driving up costs - and pollution

## Summary
Energy think tanks and environmental groups have expressed worries about air pollution from Thailand's gas infrastructure. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board) Even though only about 6 to 7 per cent of Thailand’s gas supply is coming through the Strait of Hormuz, the government is scrambling to secure fuel with its predominant LNG source market Qatar currently impacted, said Raksit Pattanapitoon, a senior analyst for Rystad Energy. Much of the blame for the harmful air pollution typically falls on obvious, visible sources like cars and agricultural burning, said Manun Wongmasoh, a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Thailand. “Meanwhile, fossil gas power plants are largely ignored simply because they are labelled as ‘natural gas’ and perceived as cleaner,” she said. Skyscrapers are seen amidst high air pollution levels in Bangkok on Jan 20, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha) Overall, it found NOx emissions from Thailand’s gas power plants exceed the combined annual emissions from buses, motorcycles and taxis in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. “It is not a marginal source. A sign announcing "Diesel fuel has run out" is displayed at a gas station in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand on Mar 18, 2026. (Photo: AP/Grant Peck) Thai government data shows that, after transport, emissions from industry and fuel combustion, including power plants, are among the largest contributors to air pollution.

## Article Content
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How Thailand’s gas bet is driving up costs - and pollution
Thailand’s dependence on gas is coming under renewed scrutiny as rising costs and global disruptions expose economic and environmental risks embedded in its power system.
An LNG tank is seen from a fishing village in Map Ta Phut in Thailand's Rayong province. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board)
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Jack Board
Jack Board
09 Apr 2026 11:13AM
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RAYONG, Thailand: The tiny fishing hamlet on a stretch of land that juts into the Gulf of Thailand looks just like countless others that dot the country’s coastline.
It has the brightly coloured boats, the packs of street dogs and the delicate waves lapping onto the sands.
But this one, in Rayong province south-east of Bangkok, has a unique perspective. It stares straight into the heart of Thailand’s largest industrial gas complex.
Map Ta Phut, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest petrochemical hubs, dominates a vast coastal area here.
Within the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), a special economic zone, it handles a significant share of Thailand’s energy imports, gas processing and petrochemical production.
It depends heavily on pipeline natural gas and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), much of which is tied to global supply routes, including shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, now disrupted by the Iran conflict.
Map Ta Phut has permanently altered the coastal views here, and its waters and air. It has also irrevocably shaped the country’s power system, now at the
frontline of a global energy shock
.
Gas infrastructure is located close to populations, especially in the Eastern Economic Corridor and around Bangkok. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board)
Thailand is one of the most gas-dependent power systems in Asia. Gas generates roughly 55 to 60 per cent of the country’s electricity and is also widely used as a petrochemical feedstock.
Thailand’s reliance on gas is being tested on two fronts at once. As geopolitical tensions disrupt global supply and push up prices, the cost of keeping the country powered is rising sharply.
Gas is no longer the cheap “bridge fuel” it once was. LNG prices have roughly doubled during the latest Middle East tensions.
At the same time, recent expert analysis suggests that the very system driving those costs is also contributing significantly to air pollution, especially in the densely populated areas where most gas infrastructure is located - around Bangkok and the EEC.
Together, they expose a deeper problem: a fuel that is neither as cheap nor as clean as once believed, experts told CNA.
The Middle Eastern crisis has revealed short-term price shocks and long-term risks embedded in its decades of energy planning that increasingly pivoted towards gas, said Tara Buakamsri, an independent energy policy advocate.
“It has become a perfect storm for the energy system here in Thailand,” he said.
One immediate outcome for households will be
increased electricity prices
. Last week, the Energy Regulatory Commission approved a new average electricity tariff of 3.95 baht per kilowatt-hour for the May-August billing cycle, up from the current 3.88 baht.
Up to the start of April from the onset of the Iran conflict, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) had absorbed close to 36 billion baht (US$1.1 billion) on behalf of the public.
Energy think tanks and environmental groups have expressed worries about air pollution from Thailand's gas infrastructure. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board)
Even though only about 6 to 7 per cent of Thailand’s gas supply is coming through the Strait of Hormuz, the government is scrambling to secure fuel with its predominant LNG source market Qatar currently impacted, said Raksit Pattanapitoon, a senior analyst for Rystad Energy.
Nearly two-thirds of Thailand’s gas comes from its domestic supply, with about 9 per cent pipelined from Myanmar. The rest is LNG from multiple sources including Qatar, Australia, the United States and Malaysia.
“It's not too bad at the moment, but we're still using a lot of gas, and a lot of it is coming from LNG,” he said.
Thai officials and executives from state-owned PTT, the country’s largest energy company, held talks in March with a US LNG producer, Cheniere Energy, to increase long-term supply and accelerate deliveries, with the aim of mitigating disruptions due to the ongoing war.
“Thailand will be able to navigate this crisis together,” Energy Minister Atthapol Rerkpiboon said at the time.
Meanwhile, the EGAT set up a “war room” to monitor the Iran conflict's impact on energy

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Within the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), a special economic zone, it handles a significant share of Thailand’s energy imports, gas processing and petrochemical production.

### Areas for Consideration
- Together, they expose a deeper problem: a fuel that is neither as cheap nor as clean as once believed, experts told CNA.
- The challenge is to make it public.

### Implications
- The Middle Eastern crisis has revealed short-term price shocks and long-term risks embedded in its decades of energy planning that increasingly pivoted towards gas, said Tara Buakamsri, an independent energy policy advocate. “It has become a perfect storm for the energy system here in Thailand,” he said.
- One immediate outcome for households will be increased electricity prices .
- Last week, the Energy Regulatory Commission approved a new average electricity tariff of 3.95 baht per kilowatt-hour for the May-August billing cycle, up from the current 3.88 baht.
- Thai officials and executives from state-owned PTT, the country’s largest energy company, held talks in March with a US LNG producer, Cheniere Energy, to increase long-term supply and accelerate deliveries, with the aim of mitigating disruptions due to the ongoing war. “Thailand will be able to navigate this crisis together,” Energy Minister Atthapol Rerkpiboon said at the time.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers gas, thailand, energy topics. Notable strengths include discussion of gas. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 2415.