SCG Chemicals Business, a petrochemical arm of SET-listed Siam Cement Group, expects its Map Ta Phut Olefins Co (MOC) to reach full olefin production capacity of 2.05 million tonnes a year, up from 1.7 million tonnes, thanks to a debottlenecking project.
The project should lead to lower costs and promote energy savings using environmentally friendly processes.
The project is a collaboration between SCG Chemicals Business and chemical maker Dow Thailand in a move to improve the potential and provide a competitive advantage on a global scale, said Tanawong Areeratchakul, president of SCG Chemicals Business.
"This project will see MOC produce an additional 350,000 tonnes of olefins a year, increasing flexibility in feedstock selection," he said.
SCG Chemicals Business expects the global petrochemical industry to continue to grow, following strong demand in many segments including the medical and healthcare business, electric vehicles and food packaging, which all need petrochemical products including olefins.
SCG president and chief executive Roongrote Rangsiyopash said the MOC project is the largest in terms of investment and technological challenges.
The project was completed earlier than planned despite the impact of Covid-19, with the success attributed to the company's stringent implementation of pandemic response measures, he said.
"MOC is ready to meet demand from both domestic and international markets," said Mr Roongrote.
Expansion of olefin production capacity is also good for Dow Thailand, which works with SCG Chemicals Business to co-produce olefins.
Dow offers packaging and speciality plastics applications. It wants to capture growing trends in this industry, including sustainability and healthcare, said Bambang Candra, commercial vice-president of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics in Asia-Pacific.
"Cooperation with SCG will strengthen Thai industries' technology and competitiveness, helping to drive the country's economy," said Dow Thailand president Chatchai Luanpolcharoenchai.