Narongchai said PTT Exploration and Production Pcl, as the state oil and natural gas company is known, would be interested in “any open bidding” licensing process in oil and gas exploration in the Bay.

He told the ambassador that the PTTEP had invested in 14 large-scale power generation projects in Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Oman, Algeria and Iran.

Ambassador Tasneem stressed on Thai investments and technical cooperation in the Bangladesh’s energy and power sector.

Both sides agreed to exchange power and energy sector experts and investors soon to explore areas of investment and technical cooperation.

She briefed the minister about current government’s plan to double the power generation before 2030.The envoy invited both private and government investment from Thailand in coal-fired and LNG-based power plants.

She urged them to invest in alternative and renewable energy including solar heating systems, wind, bio-mass, and solid waste technology.

Tasneem referred to Bangladesh-Thai 2012 joint statement of cooperation where both sides agreed to encourage collaboration between their oil and gas companies in exploration and production opportunities in Bangladesh.

The ambassador proposed institutional and technical cooperation to learn from Thailand’s best practices in enhancing energy efficiency and cost-reduction.

The Thai minister welcomed this proposal.

Narongchai also showed “keen interest” in investing in base-load power generation in Bangladesh by constructing coal-fired, gas-fired or oil-fired power plants and also in power transmission systems.