Thailand’s oil refiner and petrochemical maker IRPC has decided to postpone a THB32.4 billion ($1 billion) petrochemical project due to the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources told SSESSMENTS.COM. The project was initially planned to start this year and add IRPC’s paraxylene and benzene capacity by 1.3 million tons/year and 400,000 tons/year, respectively in 2024.
Despite the delay in the mentioned project, IRPC will move forward with a THB9 billion ($277 million) clean fuels project. He also added that IRPC had cut run rates by about 20% because of weak demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. It now planned to refine 180,000 bpd of crude oil, compared to its initial target of 205,000 to 210,000 bpd.
