Thai oil refiner Bangchak to invest $202mn in 2013

BANGKOK: Thailand's Bangchak Petroleum Pcl said on Thursday it planned to invest about 6 billion baht ($202 million) in 2013, mostly to improve its oil refinery and aimed for higher average refining output of 110,000 barrels per day.

Bangchak, which has a nameplate refining capacity of 120,000 bpd, ran at 80,000 bpd in 2012 after a shutdown for repairs following a fire that damaged its crude distillation unit in July, it said in a statement.

The refiner aimed for an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 10 billion baht this year, up 30 percent from a year earlier, and expected average refining margin of $7 a barrel this year when it has no shutdown plan, the statement said.