Both Thailand and Malaysiahave claimed an off-shore area of the continental shelf of 7,250 square kilometers, with the central point 180 kilometers from Pattanee, 260 from Songkhla Province and 150 from Kota Bharu, Kelantan respectively.

 

In 1979, the Thai Government under Prime Minister General Kriangsak Chamanant and the Malaysian Government under Prime Minister Dato Husein Onn entered into a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the establishment of a joint authority for the equal sharing of and development of "non-living" resources from the area clamed by both countries, and commonly referred to as the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area or JDA. Both parties agreed to establish the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Authority (MTJA) in 1990 to represent both governments in the exploration and exploitation of the petroleum resources in the JDA under the equal sharing concept.

 

In 1997, Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) entered into the Heads of Agreement (HOA) to purchase the JDA gas on a 50:50 basis. PTT and PETRONAS entered into a 50:50 joint venture on pipeline and gas separation plant projects and consequently established Trans Thai-Malaysia (Thailand) Limited (TTM) to overlook the gas pipeline and gas separation plant projects on February 4, 2000,

 

Trans Thai-Malaysia (Thailand) Limited (TTM) on behalf of the gas pipeline Thai-Malaysia and gas separation plant project, it is direct responsibility in procurement and transportation of clean products of natural gas to serve the national energy reliability. Adherence to the Commitment, TTM is declared of social responsibility in utilizing all potential resources to help a better improvement and development of life. TTM…Energy for Joint Development.