'Pirapan' leads a team to visit Saudi Arabia to discuss cooperation in energy, inviting investment in infrastructure, oil refineries, oil depots, ports, and oil pipelines, strengthening SPR to pilot hydrogen energy production.Mr. Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, said that he had traveled to Saudi Arabia on an official visit on July 15-16, 2024, and discussed with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Energy's negotiating team, led by His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Saudi Aramco, a world-class oil company, SABIC, a world-class chemical producer, ACWA Power, a power generation business operator, and SEEC, an agency overseeing the country's energy efficiency and production improvement. This was to strengthen relations and follow up on the progress of the 8-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Thai Ministry of Energy and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Energy, which was signed in 2022. The 9th joint agreement was also proposed, which is the transfer of knowledge and energy technology, as well as providing assistance in terms of infrastructure for the establishment of Thailand's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), to which Saudi Arabia responded, especially in terms of providing academic support for the 'National Energy College', which is being prepared to be established in Thailand. To help improve knowledge and energy personnel that will benefit Thailand in the future.'We have invited Saudi Arabia to invest in energy infrastructure, oil refineries, oil depots, ports and oil pipelines in potential areas of the country to enhance energy security and SPR for Thailand and to be a distribution point for oil from Thailand to other countries in Asia, which will help reduce transportation costs. Saudi Arabia has shown interest,' said Mr. Phiraphan.Mr. Pirapan said that Saudi Arabia has placed great importance on future energy and is considering investing in this area in Thailand, especially hydrogen energy, which is a fuel that can be used in many ways, including future cars, fuel in various industrial plants, and can also be used to produce electricity. Investment in hydrogen energy production is expected to materialize quickly because both the public and private sectors of both countries have goals to develop and invest in this area, and Saudi Arabia is ready to cooperate with Thailand in producing clean energy, pushing towards the goal of carbon neutrality and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. -511-Thai News AgencySource: Thai News Agency