The majority state-owned Bangchak Petroleum Plc (BCP) plans a second refinery outside Bangkok, raising capacity to 300,000 barrels per day at a cost of 100 billion baht.
Bangchak's refinery on Sukhumvit Road has been restored after the July 4 fire and resumed operations in mid-October.
President Anusorn Sangnimnuan said Bangchak will soon conduct a feasibility study into the project.
Hopefully a plan can be finalised within three years, with the new refinery operational within eight years from now, he said.
Bangchak's existing refinery on Sukhumvit Road has capacity of 120,000 bpd and cannot be expanded, as no more space is available.
At present, Thailand's overall oil refining capacity is 1 million bpd.
Of that, 700,000 bpd is supplied to the fuel sector and the rest used as petrochemical feedstock.
Anusorn: B100bn for second refinery
"Alternative fuels such as natural gas, cooking gas and biofuel are available, but demand for fossil fuel will still grow continuously over the next decade until it surpasses supply," said Mr Anusorn.
He said demand in neighbouring countries is also growing rapidly.
Bangchak yesterday announced a budget of 24.3 billion baht for the 2013-16 period.
Of that, 9.5 billion baht will be allocated for solar power operations, 6 billion for upgrading the existing refinery, 4 billion for expansion of the retail oil network, 800 million for biofuel and 4 billion for general investment.
The refinery upgrade will increase nameplate capacity by 27.3% to 140,000 bpd by 2016.
For the retail business, Bangchak targets monthly sales volume growth of 9% to 420 million litres next year.
This will be achieved via 25 new petrol stations, upgrades for the 120 existing stations and a rebranding.
Bangchak plans to have 95 megawatts of solar farms operating next February, up from 45 MW now, eventually increasing to 170 MW.
Meanwhile, the company yesterday revealed the cause of the July 4 fire at its present refinery, saying the incident was caused by a small leak at its oil distillery unit, allowing oxygen to flow in and resulting in ignition.
Damage was estimated at 800 million baht, but business disruption caused by the refinery shutdown was offset by insurance compensation.
A joint investigation into the incident was conducted by Thailand's National Metal and Materials Technology Center, Switzerland's Foster Wheeler AG and Toyo-Thai Corporation.
The Delaware-based DuPont was a consultant for implementing safety measures at the refinery.
Shares of BCP closed yesterday on the SET at 26.50 baht, down 25 satang, in trade worth 40.1 million baht.
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About the author
Writer: Yuthana PraiwanPosition: Business Reporter
Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/11/07/bangchak-doubles-down/
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