SET-listed PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) plans to build a US$5-billion petrochemical complex near the Marcellus Formation on the US East Coast.
Chief executive Supattanapong Punmeechaow yesterday said his company was conducting a feasibility study.
PTTGC is expected to select a site from among three possibilities for the complex by the end of next month.
The Marcellus Formation is an extensive area of marine sedimentary rock named for a distinctive outcrop near the village of Marcellus, New York.
The company is looking for a perfect location that could easily access shale gas production resources, Mr Supattanapong said.
After the feasibility study, PTTGC will spend another year working out details of the project, which is expected to produce 1 million tonnes of ethylene polymers a year.
The company is seeking a strategic partner to work on the project and is in talks with a Japanese firm.
Mr Supattanapong said abundant gas from resources in the US was mostly wet gas suitable for petrochemical production.
Most polymer produced at the new plant would feed the US market, which is a net importer of commodity-grade polymer.
PTTGC may also invest in a petrochemical complex with Indonesian state oil enterprise Pertamina to develop a project in Balongan city on the island of Java.
The project is worth $5 billion with annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes, mostly of commodity-grade ethylene polymer.
The project is near a new oil refinery that Pertamina is developing with Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco.
Mr Supattanapong said three major investors wanted to integrate the projects to trim development costs.
"It would be the first integrated oil refinery and petrochemical plant in Indonesia," he said.
PTTGC also plans to conduct a feasibility study on a $1-billion polyoxide factory in Map Ta Phut in Rayong province.
Annual capacity is expected to be 200,000 tonnes of feedstock for building materials and paint products.
Mr Supattanapong said PTTGC and Cargill Inc, its partner in joint venture NatureWorks LLC, the world's largest maker of polylactic acid polymers, had agreed to list Minnesota-based NatureWorks on the Nasdaq to seek funds for development.
However, he declined to give further details of an initial public offering, saying it was expected to be traded this year.
PTTGC shares closed yesterday on the SET at 58 baht, up 75 satang, in trade worth 299 million baht.