Publication Code: N52
by Somchai Harnhirun, Pamela Tisdale, and Areeya Boon-Long
Thailand has been generously endowed by rich reserves and various types of natural resources, ranging from minerals, petroleum, forestry, fertile land and groundwater. With mineral resources in particular, including petroleum and groundwater, Thailand can be considered a naturally rich country. In the last year, more than 44 types of minerals were produced in Thailand. These minerals had a value of more than twenty billion baht; and amount which has steadily increased over the past decade. Approximately 90 percent of the mineral products are used to serve an increasing domestic demand, whereas the remaining 10 percent are exported. In terms of groundwater, recent economic development of Thailand has bought about increases in water requirements in industrial, commercial and domestic sectors, particularly in the Bangkok are and its vicinity. In order to serve such dramatic change in demand for water, groundwater is heavily pumped, resulting in increased and widespread land subsidence in some areas. Moreover, groundwater also plays an important role as an alternative source of water for industrial development and agricultural uses. It is still the only source of water supply for households in the Bangkok Metropolis Area and its vicinity where the public water pipeline is not available.
Petroleum is one of the major sources of energy in Thailand. Although Thailand can produce all types of petroleum, namely crude oil, natural gas and condensate, the country remains a petroleum importer as it requires more than 275 thousand barrels of oil equivalents each year (MMPDE) (as of December 1996) This requirement is growing at a tremendous and continuing rate, however, all responsible agencies are now attempting to reduce the dependency on imported petroleum.