Bangkok Industrial Gas Co (BIG), Thailand's largest industrial gas producer, expects its sales to grow by 5-6% next year, up from an average of 4,200 tonnes per day, due to more demand from the manufacturing and service sectors following easing of the lockdown.
Its gas sales include oxygen, nitrogen, argon and hydrogen.
Piyabut Charuphen, managing director of BIG, said industrial gas consumption is higher than last year and even 2019 before Covid-19 hit Thailand.
In 2020, daily gas sales decreased to 3,600 tonnes from 3,900 tonnes in 2019.
Now the volume stands at 4,200 tonnes.
Mr Piyabut said manufacturing returned to normal after many countries eased lockdown measures, including travel restrictions, which caused people to stay home and spend less, affecting the industrial sector.
When lockdown measures were relaxed, demand for some products soared at a rate beyond the production capacity of some factories, he said.
Another factor driving gas sales is a project to increase gas production capacity to 450,000 tonnes a year. The amount makes up 40% of total annual gas production.
BIG and national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc formed a joint venture to set up Map Ta Phut Air Products Co (MAP), with a 51% investment from PTT and a 49% investment from BIG, to run a gas production facility.
The plant uses chilled water left over from the regasification process of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from production facilities run by PTT in Map Ta Phut in Rayong.
LNG needs to go through regasification to turn it back into gas.
Mr Piyabut said earlier the new gas production process marks a crucial step for the two companies towards carbon dioxide reduction.
The new gas production technique can reduce at least 28,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.