Petroleum institute tasked with feasibility study on petrochemical development
Petroleum Institute of Thailand is now studying the feasibility of petrochemical industry development in the fourth phase after it was notified by the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) that the project must be complete within 2020.
Kurijit Nakhonthap, director of the institute, said the project would need to answer four key questions:
1 Which new S-curve industries would be suitable for Thailand when the country’s capacity to produce raw materials in petrochemical industry decreases following the diminishing natural gas in Gulf of Thailand?
2 Does Thailand possess suitable readiness in terms of infrastructure and investment promotion policies for new industries?
3 What are the regulations for environments, locations, logistics and customs procedures that will help boost the efficiency and sustainability of new industries?
4 What are the primary areas suitable to serve as locations for the new industries? What are the secondary areas in case the primary areas become saturated?
“The institute had also submitted to the EPPO the plan to use petrochemical industry to support other industries in nearby communities such as tourism, food manufacturing, auto making to promote the circular economy.” Kurijit said.
“We are also studying the possibility of exporting petrochemical products to new markets such as India and Africa via Andaman Sea, which will expand our market from the existing ones in China, Japan and South Korea.”