IRPC, a petrochemical arm of national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc, plans to develop a 2-billion-baht gas separation plant to support its production of cleaner oil under a cooperation agreement with Bangkok Industrial Gas Co (BIG), Thailand's largest industrial gas producer.

The facility, located in the IRPC industrial park in Rayong, is projected to feed oxygen and nitrogen to IRPC's oil refinery to make diesel that meets the environmental emission standards of Euro 5.

Piyabut Charuphen, managing director of BIG, and Chawalit Tippawanich, chief executive and president of IRPC, signed an agreement on the cooperation yesterday.

Mr Chawalit said construction of the gas separation plant is in line with IRPC's ultra clean fuel project, also known as UCF.

The company is focusing more on cleaner energy through this 13.3-billion-baht UCF project, with technical support from Chinese and South Korean companies.

Foster Wheeler Co (Thailand) is the UCF's project management consultant.

UCF is among a number of large-scale investment projects in Rayong which, together with Chon Buri and Chachoengsao, forms the Eastern Economic Corridor area.

The construction of the gas separation plant is scheduled to be completed by October 2023. IRPC expects to start commercial production of more eco-friendly oil under UCF in 2024.

He said diesel produced to meet the Euro 5 standard could help the government curb air pollutants, notably PM2.5 ultra-fine dust that can cause serious breathing disorders.

Mr Piyabut said BIG expects positive business prospects as demand for industrial gas is increasing to an even greater degree than before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Thailand in 2020. The firm estimates industrial gas sales growth this year of 5-6%, up from an average of 4,200 tonnes per day in 2021, as demand increases from manufacturing and services since the lockdown was eased.

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