In 2025, Thai energy giant PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited, known as PTTEP, will celebrate its 40th anniversary.
As the company reflects on four decades of growth and change, its CEO, Montri Rawanchaikul, reveals the role PTTEP will play in shaping the future of energy in Asia, and legacy of the company so far.
“When we look back, 40 years is a long time. But we consider ourselves a relatively young company. When we were founded, the mission was to provide energy security to Thailand. When I look back on PTTEP’s 40-year history, I actually see it in four periods,” Rawanchaikul reflects.
“The first 10 years was when we were set up as a joint venture, learning as much as we could. The next 10 years we wanted to become an international player, going overseas and investing in projects in neighbouring countries. It was during this second period when we became an operator taking over projects and starting our own in Oman.
“The third decade our investments overseas expanded to places like Canada, Brazil and Australia. We learned the importance of expertise and familiarity with the environment is another element needed when investing overseas.”
“The last 10 years, as we approach 40, we have focused investment in strategic areas where we have the full range of skills and experience such as in Thailand and South East Asia, while investment expansion in places like Oman and the UAE through partnerships follows a similar pattern. The key now is staying focused on areas we have expertise in.”
Transformation
Throughout Rawanchaikul’s tenure as the CEO of PTTEP since 2021, an important focus has been on the subject of energy security, which he notes is “still important.”
“When we transform, our focus will continue to be on providing energy security for Thailand while investing sustainably. The energy transition will be a transition, not a disruption. Natural gas will remain a very important part of the transition. Our focus remains on gas but aim to make it cleaner by reducing emissions and looking at carbon capture projects. We’ll continue producing gas, making it cleaner, while investing in technology for the transition like offshore wind and hydrogen,” he says.
In the future, energy security will still remain “our top priority,” he adds.
“We know oil and gas won’t last forever in the transition. If we want to continue to be a leader during the transition, we will need not only the technology but will also need to make strategic investments in future energy projects like our investment in the largest offshore wind farm in Scotland which uses very advanced engineering and technology,” Rawanchaikul explains.
On a broader level, PTTEP is focused on becoming “a leader in the Asian energy transition,” with the firm able to “invest in technologies like hydrogen and wind.”
“We’re making our gas projects cleaner through emissions reduction programmes. We’ve set a net zero target for 2050 and are looking at carbon capture storage (CCS) projects. We are exploring offshore wind, hydrogen and other technologies that fit the transition narrative while also ensuring energy security. It requires a lot but we’re defining ourselves as an energy and technology company, driving forward to a sustainable future.”
The road to net zero
While a target is in place to get to net zero by 2050, Rawanchaikul does not shy away from the enormity of this undertaking. At the moment, the energy sector is moving “a bit slowly, we would like it to be faster.”
In achieving this goal, the CEO also believes that “collaboration is very important.”
“We live in a period where competition has gone. In the old days people would compete to find oil and gas, that’s history. Today we need to live with cooperation,” he says.
Using examples, Rawanchaikul points to PTTEP’s own collaboration with the Thai government, the Japanese authorities, and partnerships the firm has made with the UAE and Oman.
On the side of regulators, he also believes that clear policies and incentive schemes will be essential to power the energy technology of the future, with carbon capture and storage (CCS) as an example.
“Our regulators need to understand the technology and we need to continue developing CCS because I believe it is a big part of the equation.”
Generational legacy
Given PTTEP is turning 40 next year, and Rawanchaikul’s own impact on the firm throughout his tenure, the conversation inevitably turned to the subject of legacy. For Rawanchaikul, his focus for the future is on the people most affected by an energy company – the next generation.
“I would like to see the new generation that comes to work for this company, working with a plan in mind, to achieve a concept from the beginning to the end. Then you can focus because you know where our expertise is and what we are good at,” he says.
The energy transition also remains of key importance, but while these technologies continue to take significant time to mature, in the meantime there is still significant work that needs to be done.
“Now we understand the industry and we know the energy transition will take a bit of time, we need to concentrate on what we’re doing and focus on getting cleaner. Because of that the challenge we have now with the new generation is how do we attract talent to come and work in our industry,” Rawanchaikul says.
“The new generation are climate change focused and don’t want to be working for an oil and gas company. But when you look at it deeper, we are an oil and gas company but also an exploration and production company, and we do a lot more besides that. We are working in digital transformation, we set up a data foundation, we would like to do generative AI, we work with AI and Robotic Ventures. We’re more than just E&P, going into offshore wind farm, going into hydrogen and beyond E&P.”
Summing up his thoughts for the future, Rawanchaikul states: “I particularly would like to see a future where PTTEP is recognised as a leading Asian company in the energy transition.”