$1.1 Billion To Be Spent On Rayong Refiner Expansion

[Jai Dee]

Aromatics, Rayong Refinery to Spend $1.1 Bln in Joint Expansion

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Aromatics (Thailand) Pcl, the country's third-biggest publicly traded petrochemical company, and Rayong Refinery Pcl, a unit of Thailand's biggest energy company, will spend almost $1.1 billion to expand capacity.

Aromatics will spend $551 million to build its second plant that will produce chemicals such as benzene and xylene, the Bangkok-based company said in a statement last night to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Rayong, a subsidiary of PTT Pcl, which owns an almost 50 percent stake in Aromatics, will invest $387 million to build a reforming complex and another $135 million for construction of a fuel plant, the statement said.

The joint expansion plan would help reduce costs at Aromatics, which had earlier planned to construct the reforming facility. Aromatics and Rayong agreed to share the use of the new facilities, the statement said.

The reforming complex produces naphtha, an ingredient for chemicals such as benzene and xylene that are used to make insecticides and rubber cement.

Separately PTT said Rayong and Star Petroleum Refining Co., in which PTT owns a 36 percent stake, will end their alliance on February 8, 2009.

[Jai Dee]

Aromatics to co-invest with Rayong Refinery in aromatics

Aromatics (Thailand) Plc, a 49.99 per cent owned affiliated of state oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc, said Friday it will co-invest Bt42.39 billion in aromatics and reforming facilities with wholly-owned PTT unit Rayong Refinery Plc.

Aromatics Thailand will invest around Bt21.83 billion in an aromatics complex, while Rayong Refinery will invest about Bt15.33 billion in a reforming complex, and another Bt5.35 billion in an upgrading complex to enhance the value of byproducts derived from the reforming complex, the company said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Source: The Nation - Feb 10 , 2006