Thursday, April 05, 2007 Foreign oil company mulls facility in Visayas
A TEAM of technical experts from the PTT Public Company Ltd. of Thailand will be arriving in Manila before the end of the month to look into the opening of an oil depot in the Visayas, specifically in Cebu.
Seri Kirisri, executive vice president for oil business group of PTT, said they have already made initial talks with their possible partners in the country and will finalize it with the meeting in Manila.
The oil depot to be built in Cebu will have an initial investment of US$100 million, Kerisri said.
He said the oil depot in Cebu would be beneficial to both the Philippines and Thailand since they see the potential of the Philippines as a major investment hub in the future.
The oil depot is just one of the company many planned investments in the country since there had been feasibility studies being conducted on the putting up of oil refinery and a petrochemical hub together with a local partner.
Kerisri said the oil refinery is expected to generate about 150,000 to 200,000 barrels of oil per day and would cost around US$2 billion.
At present, PTT owns and operates a domestic onshore and offshore transmission pipeline network with an approximate length of 2,400 kilometers.
PTT's income in 2006 was placed at US$31.95 billion while its net income reached US$2.5 billion in the same year. The company has committed to invest US$14.72 billion in the next five years for its local and international operations.
Sukanya Jindanuwat, chief finance officer of PTT in a separate interview, said they chose the Philippines as its hub in the future because of similarities in culture, traditions and policies of Thailand and the country.
For its planned petrochemical plants, there are also initial discussions with local firm JG Summit.
Artasith Pothiapinyanvisuth, executive vice president for commercial and international marketing of the oil business group of PTT, said there are now plans to put up additional 10 to 20 retail gas stations in the country as part of their expansion plans.
PTT in 2006 announced that it will set aside about P3.5 billion to P4 billion to expand its oil business in the Philippines in the next three years with the investment covering the expansion of additional stations, transferring a lubricant plant from Thailand to the Philippines and construction of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant. (MSN/Sunnex)
