IRPC to invest US$280 mln in capacity expansion in 2017

16-Dec-16

Thailand's integrated oil refiner IRPC Pcl plans to invest 10 billion baht (US$280 mln) in 2017 with an aim to expand the production capacity. IRPC will increase its polypropylene production capacity by 63% (300,000 tons) from current levels, to 775,000 tons by mid-2017, President and CEO Sukrit Surabotsopon told Reuters.

Once the expansion is completed, Sukrit said IRPC will be Southeast Asia's largest producer of polypropylene. He reiterated that IRPC will miss its EBITDA target this year due to a delay in its upstream hygiene and value-added product upgrade (UHV) project that started commercial runs in July, two months later than planned. The UHV project, which increased IRPC's annual propylene capacity by 320,000 tons, will boost the company's earnings in 2017, he said.