Thai Oil advances Sriracha refinery expansion, upgrading project
Update: In November 2021, Thai Oil let a contract to a division of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing to supply equipment for the ongoing Clean Fuel Project at its refinery at Sriracha (OGJ Online, Nov. 22, 2021).
Thai Oil PLC is advancing construction on its previously announced Clean Fuel Project (CFP) at its 276,000-b/d refinery at Sriracha, Thailand (OGJ Online, Apr. 11, 2017).
A ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone for the project’s main production control building was held on Mar. 16, the operator said.
The $4.825-million CFP includes retirement of two crude distillation units (CDU). The addition of a fourth, 220,000-b/d CDU to the existing third unit will raise the refinery’s total crude capacity to 400,000 b/d.
The project also will add a vacuum gas oil hydrocracker, a residue hydrocracker, a hydrogen manufacturing unit, a naphtha hydrotreater, a diesel hydrodesulfurization unit, a sulfur recovery unit, and an electric power plant fueled by residue pitch.
The refinery, now 100% dependent on light crude, will have a crude slate after completion of the project of 40-50% light crude, 5-15% medium crude, and 40-50% heavy crude.
The CFP also will improve product yields to 25% light distillate, 62% middle distillate, and 13% others, such as sulfur, long residue, and reformate, with no fuel oil.
As the private sector’s first megaproject in the Eastern Economic Corridor to position Thailand to become Southeast Asia’s energy hub, the CFP additionally aligns with current global market conditions and changing regulations such as the reduction in fuel oil use by marine transport as well as production of Euro 5-quality gasoline and diesel for improved environmental quality, Thai Oil said.
The CFP, on which ground officially broke for construction in September 2019, is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2023.
Thai Oil previously let a $4-billion contract to a consortium of Saipem, Petrofac, and Samsung for the CFP, under which the partners will deliver engineering, procurement, construction and startup services for new units and upgrading of existing units (OGJ Online, Oct. 19, 2018).
The operator also signed a $757-million sales and purchase agreement with Global Power Synergy Plc (GPSC) for the electric power plant, or energy recovery unit (ERU), to be added as part of the CFP, Thai Oil said in a May 9, 2019, release.
GPSC’s investment in the ERU—which will generate power and steam using petroleum pitch from the refinery as its main fuel—will help Thai Oil reduce its CFP investment burden by 15% as well as support the company’s financial status and increase its flexibility to effectively invest in other new projects in the future, Thai Oil said.
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
