Innovative oil refinery, storage tanks on the cards
One Anametrics Intertrade will invest in a new type of oil refinery and storage tanks worth Bt12 billion in total over the next five years.
Saran Nithijinda, chairman of One Anametrics and managing director of S-One Petrochemical, said yesterday that the company would invest in a Bt3-billion “hydro-cracking” oil refinery, a new innovation from Russia that is able to increase production efficiency and reduce costs by 5-10 per cent per barrel.
One Anametrics has signed a contract with Iter Holdings, producer and owner of the technology. The first batch of equipment will arrive in March.
The refinery will take 14 months to construct on a 1,000-rai plot in Phetchaburi province, and will refine 12,500 barrels per day, 70 per cent of which will be diesel, 20 per cent will be benzene and 10 per cent will be fuel oil.
About 80 per cent of the production will be exported to southern China and neighbouring countries such as Burma and Cambodia. The remaining 20 per cent will be sold locally to unbranded filling stations, which comprise 50 per cent of all filling stations across Thailand.
The company will gradually invest in six oil tanks, each capable of storing 5,000 tonnes and to be used for storing crude oil imported from Russia and Indonesia. Three other tanks will be constructed to store refined oil over the next five years. The overall cost of the land, refining machinery and oil tanks will be Bt12 billion.
One Anametrics is a cooperative of petroleum specialists, international and Thai bankers and an energy innovator from Russia. Anametrics Holdings owns 60 per cent and S-One Petrochemical holds the remainder.
Saran said the company was started by S-One Intertrade five years ago with capital of Bt10 million. The company began as a distributor of Petronas natural gas and other products to various industries. Early success allowed the company to expand and increase the efficiency of its distribution.
A new company, One Logistics, was set up and later grew to become S-One Petrochemical. The company was able to import oil from abroad and sell it to neighbouring countries.
As a “Section 7” oil trader under Thai law, the company must own tanks to store oil. This requirement caused the company to develop a complete supply chain in order to control its costs.
Accordingly, it is now expanding its medium-sized refinery with cheaper equipment than was spent on its old technology.
Chutamas Vongvorakit, chairman of One Anametrics Intertrade, said that the company would rely on the management and financial strength of Anametrics to trade and transport oil from S-One.
Russia is the first country to develop such an innovative cracking technology to refine oil, he said.
Known as the Shukhov Cracking Process, it works by applying heat in such a way as to produce refined oil with minimum pollution, and thereby allows the company to do its part in helping save the environment in Southeast Asia, he added.
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/One-Anametrics-to-invest-Bt12-bn-30173965.html
