PTT Public Company Limited: Transforming the modern world with sustainable production of oil and natural gas

The past decade has seen a tremendous change in technological advancements but oil, gas and coal still continue to impact nearly every aspect of modern life. Petroleum and petrochemicals have always been a global industry as demand and supply have shifted around the world. They have brought a revolution by catering to the major needs of the rapidly growing, expanding and highly technical civilization as a source of energy, chemicals, synthetic fibers and rubbers, etc. As the petrochemical industry is highly technological and capital intensive, developments in petrochemical technology are taking place very fast. One such company that is making developments and advancements in petroleum processing is PTT Public Company Limited. It operates petroleum business through investments in subsidiaries, joint ventures, and associates (PTT Group), which are engaged in upstream and downstream petroleum, coal, power, and infrastructure businesses.

PTT is a fully integrated national petroleum and petrochemical company with the vision to become Thai premier multinational energy company. PTT’s aspiration is to be the “Pride and Treasure of Thailand”, achieved through the SPIRIT corporate culture where the employees are cultivated to have high moral conscience as well as to be brilliantly clever. PTT’s operations cover the business value chain from upstream to downstream with a focus on incremental value addition in tandem with innovation. As an operating and holding company, PTT conducts business directly and through PTT Group companies.

Inception of the company

The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) was established on December 29, 1978, concurrently in the period of the second world crisis of petroleum shortages. Thus, PTT commenced its primary mission in expediting to procure adequate oil for domestic consumption. That was a drive for PTT to seek additional indigenous petroleum reservoirs for the benefit of the country. As a result, Thailand has been able to increase energy security while gradually reducing the need for foreign energy imports.

Following the privatization of the state enterprise “Petroleum Authority of Thailand”, PTT Public Company Limited or “PTT” was registered on October 1, 2001 “under Corporatization Act B.E. 2542 (A.D. 1999). PTT inherited the business operations, rights, debts, liabilities and assetsfrom its predecessor. PTT has an initial registered capital of Baht 20,000 million (10 Baht/share). Having the Ministry of Finance as the largest shareholder, the company was listed on.

Commitment to operational excellence

Over the years, PTT has played a key role in fostering long-term national energy security. PTT Research and Technology Institute (PTT RTI) undertakes a wide range of research, while determining research strategic planning and management. Its extensive research areas include new technologies, product development of petroleum and petrochemical, alternative energy, product applications and its environmental impacts as well as business research and advisory services. While fostering a technology base, PTT RTI is moving towards “Technology Center” to be capable of serving as “Solution Provider & Consultancy” in fulfilling PTT Group’s business requirements so as to achieve the leading role in quality, safety and environment management. By all means, PTT RTI conducts its R&D activities with regard to the optimum efficiency of applications, reduction of production costs, competitive marketing efficiency, research for innovative products in response to state energy policies for optimum benefits of the nation and all concerned.

Disruptive Innovation

PTT’s business strategic directions consisted of the 3Ds as follows.

• Do Now: The short-term strategy that drives PTT competitiveness to top-quartile performance by raising business efficiency through assorted productivity improvement programs. It includes generating incomes, reducing cost and restructuring for greater business efficiency
• Decide Now: The strategy that leads to business sustainability by expanding our core business to cover all our expertise bases. For businesses as LNG value chain, which PTT has already established the platform to build on, yet, there are still some trades in the LNG value chain waiting to be exploited. Also, renewables will be the next big change in energy industry, thus more investments to spearhead PTT into that direction are called for in order for PTT to generate more growth in that direction; for example, such businesses like EV and Energy Storage etc
• Design Now: The strategy that prepare the corporation for leapfrogging growth or the “New S-Curve” based on global mega-trends and disruptive technology that may arise

Delivering quality products for customer satisfaction

PTT divides its market into two portions, domestic and overseas. Its core products are natural gas products and petroleum products. These are sold to customers of the International Trading Business Unit, Oil Business Unit, Gas Business Unit, and Infrastructure and Sustainability Management Business Group, with two major groups of customers: Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C).

PTT listens to voice of customers to analyze their needs and expectations through assorted channels, including customer visits, seminars, and opinion surveys. These provide information on competitors, state of competition and technology, customers’ behavioral trends and lifestyles, the market environment, and future needs of customers. Constantly, PTT developed support systems to ease customers’ transactions including taking purchase orders through the Order & Customer Relations Center, and the e-Order, e-Billing, e-Payment, and Direct Approved systems designed to improve the efficiency of the complaint-receiving center through the Mind System, which links all related information centers, including e-mails, the website, and PTT Blue Card member data, so that officers that receive complaints can swiftly respond to customers with accurate and timely information.

PTT also developed a service standard manual and procedure manual that are comprehensive, including a manual on PTT’s service station standard, LPG bottling, aviation fuel refueling and Contact Center standard.

Knowing the leader behind PTT Public Company Limited, CEO Tevin Vongvanich

Over 30 years of experience in energy sector and 27 years in PTT Group, Tevin Vongvanich started his career in PTT Group with PTT Exploration and Production PCL (PTTEP). From 2012 to 2015, he served as President and CEO of PTTEP. Since September 2015, he has been appointed the President and CEO of PTT, the only company from Thailand listed in Fortune Global 500. Vongvanich also takes various roles in Governmental organizations, for instance, Chairman for TMA Center for Competitiveness and Council of Trustees of Petroleum Institute of Thailand (PTIT).

He graduated Bachelor Degree of Engineering in Chemical Engineering with first-class honor from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. After that, he received his M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University, USA; and an MS in Petroleum Engineering from University of Houston, USA.

“In order to keep up with a disruptive world, we need to disrupt ourselves.Today we have started looking into new businesses such as digitization, robotics and IoTs. These new S-Curves will also contribute to a sustainable growth for Thailand.”