IRPC, PTTAR IN JOINT UPGRADE OF REFINERY TO MEET EURO 4

       Local integrated oil and petrochemical producer IRPC will co-invest with PTT Aromatics and Refining to upgrade the latter's refinery to meet the Euro 4 standards.

       The new standards will be implemented by the beginning of 2012.
       "We'll swap oil products among the subsidiaries of the PTT Group and co-invest in the upgrading project of PTTAR's oil refinery. We've not yet finalised the form of the co-investment, but we are expected to make a minor investment in this project," said IRPC chief executive Pailin Chuchottaworn.
       He declined to disclose the exact investment budget for the project.
       Pailin said it would not be worth it to upgrade all of the facilities to meet Euro 4 standards, because then the remaining premium oil output, which would also be produced at high cost, would only be sent to other countries.
       Thai Oil and Bangchak have already upgraded their facilities to comply with Euro 4 standards.
       Meanwhile, IRPC has targeted revenue of Bt180 billion this year, down from Bt245 billion last year, due mainly to lower prices for oil and petrochemical products.
       Seventy per cent of revenue will come from oil refining and the rest from petrochemicals.
       Pailin said the third quarter would be better for the company than the second quarter, thanks to rising prices of oil and petrochemical goods.
       He said the price of plastic pellets was about US$1,200 (Bt40,300) per tonne, up 20 per cent from the average in 2008, when oil and petrochemical prices fluctuated wildly.
       He said the price for plastic pellets could remain at the $1,200 level next year.
       "The price may tend to soften, due to greater supply from new production plants in the Middle East. But there's a chance demand will spike from the Shanghai Expo and the Asian Games in China," he said.
       IRPC yesterday introduced an electronic transaction system, in cooperation with Kasikornbank, to boost customer satisfaction and the efficiency of its plastic trading system, since it exports to more than 100 countries.
       He said the company was trying to improve its office system, which would play a significant role in enhancing business performance and helping achieve the goal of being in the top 25 per cent of Asian petrochemical complexes by 2014.
       The new system will reduce operation costs by Bt30 million per year, he said.