Thai Oil PCL has let a contract to Amec Foster Wheeler PLC to provide services for a project that will expand crude oil processing capacity and improve fuel production at the 275,000-b/sd Sriracha refinery, near Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi, Thailand.
Amec Foster Wheeler will deliver front-end engineering and design on Thai Oil’s proposed Clean Fuel Project (CFP), which alongside increasing crude processing capacity to 410,000 b/sd, will enable the refinery to produce transportation fuels meeting more-stringent quality specifications as well as improve its overall energy efficiency, the service provider said.
While it did not disclose a value of the FEED contract, Amec Foster Wheeler confirmed CFP would involve installation of a number of units, including its own proprietary solvent deasphalting technology.
The service company said it plans to complete its scope of work under the contract during second-quarter 2017.
Project details
First announced in 2015, CFP comes as part of Thai Oil’s plan to increase the Sriracha refinery’s capability to upgrade low-value products such as fuel oil into more valuable low-sulfur products that will help meet growing demand in the region for cleaner transportation fuels, according to the company’s latest annual report.
Designed to reduce environmental impacts of its production processes and finished-product slate, CFP will involve implementation of technology at the refinery to help lower production costs as well as increase flexibility to process a wider array of heavier, less expensive crudes.
Alongside serving Thailand’s growing fuel demand, increased fuel production from the refinery following CFP’s commissioning also will enable increased product exports neighboring countries within the Asean Economic Community, the operator said.
With final investment decision on the project due by yearend 2017, CFP, if approved, would be commissioned sometime in 2021-22, Thai Oil recently told investors.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].