Published on 13/05/2015
Bangchak pushes biomass SET-listed Bangchak Petroleum Plc (BCP), a mostly state-owned oil refiner and retailer, has stepped up plans to diversify into biomass projects, expecting to start up the business this year. Company president Chaiwat Kovavisarach said Bangchak signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday with the Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department to conduct a feasibility study of biomass projects for producing power from agricultural waste. Mr Chaiwat said the company would spend several months on the study to devise a business model. Thailand could potentially produce power from biomass totalling 5,270 megawatts by 2036, up from the current 2,200 MW, he said. Some of Bangchak's retail franchises are owned by farm cooperatives with a lot of agricultural waste available for use as an energy source. "They could gain extra revenue from biomass business and we would gain electricity generation capacity," Mr Chaiwat said. The budget for the feasibility study and development is part of a 90-billion-baht capital spending plan covering the six years through 2020. For the company's upstream petroleum business, Bangchak will conduct a feasibility study of drilling more wells within the Galoc Block and increasing production capacity. Galoc now produces 6,500 barrels of crude oil a day. The company plans to raise the figure to at least 100,000 bpd in the future. Mr Chaiwat said the company could still make a profit if crude oil prices stayed above US$50 a barrel. "Global oil prices are moving above $60 a barrel," he said. "That's why we have no concerns about proceeding with our exploration and production plan." Bangchak incurred a huge inventory loss from last year's collapse in oil prices.
That cut the company's net profit by 85% from 2013 to 712 million baht. BCP shares closed yesterday on the SET at 33.75 baht, up 25 satang, in trade worth 80.9 million baht.