PTT leads Thailand's petrochem integration drive

02-Aug-05

A study conducted in Thailand suggested the petrochemical industry make use of the natural gas produced from the Gulf of Thailand. Indigenous natural gas-based petrochemical complex would make Thailand one of the world's petrochemical manufacturers with the lowest costs. In line with this study, PTT Plc and its subsidiaries plan to carry out the third phase of Thailand's integrated petrochemical industry development. With this integration drive, PTT estimates to make the group as strong as Petronas, Malaysia's national energy company. The Thai Government has also extended full support in the third phase of development of the local petrochemical industry over the next ten years. PTT, Thailand's largest oil-and-gas conglomerate, has planned the sixth, seventh and eighth gas-separation plants as part of its third integrated petrochemical complex. The scheme calls for an investment of about 840 billion baht plus the 200 billion baht required to develop supporting infrastructure. Upon completion, 400-500 billion baht as revenues from the export of the new output from the complex is expected to flow in. Almost 300 billion baht per year will be from petrochemicals-and-gas sales, from the estimated revenues. Thailand could save about 200 billion baht annually in imports of raw materials. Construction of the sixth gas-separation plant will start next year and be completed in 2009 and the seventh and eight facilities will be built thereafter. Each plant will have a capacity of processing 2,000 million cubic feet of gas per day. PTT, Siam Cement, Thai Petrochemical Industry and those owned by US and European firms had completed the first and second phases of development, which involved a massive investment of 840 billion baht, resulting in earnings of about 244 billion baht annually. This constitutes about 4.5% of GDP, from the petrochemical complexes under the first and second phases.