Bangchak Petroleum to study feasibility of second refinery

Thailand’s Bangchak Petroleum Plc (BCP) plans to build a second oil refinery, a move that will double its capacity to nearly 300,000 barrels per day (bpd). BCP President Anusorn Sangnimnuan said the company will soon begin conducting a three-year feasibility study, and the plant could be operational in eight years. The second refinery will have a 150,000 bpd capacity.
Thailand’s consumption of refined oil products is expected to rise by an average 2-3% a year, while sales at Bangchak’s petrol stations are rising an average of 4-5% a year. That highlighted the need for capacity expansion, Anusorn said.
Bangchak normally produces around 98,000-99,000 bpd, accounting for nearly 10% of Thailand’s total output of 1 million bpd.
Bangchak, which is 27.22% owned by PTT Pcl, plans to invest THB24.3 billion (US$791.6 million) in 2013-2016, mostly to improve efficiency and on solar power plant projects, said Anusorn. Of the total, THB6 billion baht (US$195.4 million) will be spent in 2013; the remaining THB18.3 billion (US$596.2 million) in 2014-2016, which includes a THB6 billion (US$195.4 million) budget to build a new crude distillation unit (CDU).
The refiner is building the new unit to replace its CDU 3, which was shut for repairs for three months after being damaged by fire in July, Anusorn said.
“The repairs to the fire-hit unit have been completed and we are building a new one, which should take around 18 months to be completed,” he said.
Once the new unit is ready, Bangchak’s nameplate capacity will rise by 20,000 bpd to 140,000 bpd, he said.
Its 2012 refining output is expected to be 90,000 bpd, lower than normal, rising to 110,000 bpd in 2013. (November 6, 2012)