SPE Thailand Monthly Technical Meeting
Thursday, June 18, 2026 5:00-7:30PM
The Landmark hotel, Sukhumvit, Bangkok
"Andaman Bidding Round: Hidden Discounts and Additional Benefits"
Noppanat Vanichanugon
Head of the Unconventional Fuels Group, DMF
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Entrance Fee:
- SPE Member with registration – 500 THB
- Non-Member with registration – 1,000 THB
- No registration (Walk in) – 1,500 THB
- SPE Student chapter with registration – Free of charge
Consider joining SPE membership "click"
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Register for onsite meeting -> https://www.eventleaf.com/e/ThaiSPE
Registration will be closed on Wednesday 17 June 2026 at 12:00pm
(SPE Thailand reserves right to close the registration upon reaching venue capacity which may be before the above date/time)
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Schedule:
- 5:00pm Door open for Registration & Networking
- 5:45pm Meeting room & buffet line opened, participant to start seating
- 6:15pm Welcome Remarks & Speaker Introduction / YouTube live start
- 6:20pm Speaker Talk and Q&A
- 7:20pm Lucky Draws & Closing Remarks
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Abstract:
The Andaman Bidding Round is more than a frontier exploration opportunity. It is a strategically discounted entry into Thailand’s next offshore petroleum province. For investors seeking material upside in Southeast Asia, Andaman offers early-entry positioning, national energy relevance, and long-term option value.
This talk aims to unfold the strongest hidden discount which lies in the fiscal regime. At the surface, the Andaman may look like a frontier play, but beneath the terms, it offers a commercial structure designed to soften risk and accelerate value. Marginal petroleum royalty, particularly for deep-water development, reduces the early burden on project economics, while the Special Remuneratory Benefit, or SRB, remains reasonable and is supported by a maximum uplift mechanism that improves investment flexibility. More importantly, the mechanism to reduce petroleum income tax payment by up to 30%, combined with fast depreciation, can significantly enhance cash flow, speed up cost claim, and improve full-cycle economics. In frontier exploration, these fiscal features are not minor incentives, but built-in downside protection.
Additional advantages further strengthen the opportunity. Thailand’s continued reliance on natural gas for electricity generation creates relatively low market risk for commercial gas discoveries. The minimum exploration commitment is manageable compared with the scale of the offered acreage, allowing capital discipline with material option value. In addition, the Andaman may benefit from future linkage to Thailand’s proposed Land Bridge mega project, enhancing logistics, connectivity, and long-term energy corridor potential.
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Biography:
Mr. Noppanat Vanichchanukorn is a Senior Professional Petroleum Engineer at the Department of Mineral Fuels, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, currently serving as Head of the Unconventional Fuels Group Unit under the Mineral Fuels Management Division. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Kasetsart University and a Master of Petroleum Engineering from The University of Adelaide, Australia.
With more than 15 years of experience in the petroleum and energy sector, he has worked extensively in petroleum reservoir engineering, strategic energy planning, petroleum economics, and international petroleum cooperation. Between 2016 and 2020, he served as Senior Production Engineer at the Malaysia–Thailand Joint Authority (MTJA) in Malaysia, overseeing exploration and production activities in the Joint Development Area. His expertise includes petroleum fiscal regime analysis, project economic modeling, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), and regional energy policy development.
Mr. Noppanat has also contributed to public engagement initiatives and international technical collaborations related to sustainable energy development and low-carbon transition strategies in Southeast Asia
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Upcoming meetings:
- 16 July 2026: SPE Monthly Technical Meeting: MedcoEnergi Thailand
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