IRPC agrees to supply oil to Xishuangbanna
IRPC has agreed to supply oil to China's Xishuangbanna Gas and Petroleum Industrial for three years, paving the way for its plan to sell more oil to China.
The deal, estimated to be valued at Bt5.1 billion, was signed yesterday. IRPC president Piti Yimprasert said after the signing that the contract covered the supply of 100 million litres per annum of high-speed diesel and octane-91 petrol, starting this year. It will be shipped through Chiang Saen Port in Chiang Rai and then to Yunnan province via the Mekong River. Xishuangbanna operates a retail oil business in Yunnan. "IRPC has exported 1 million litres of oil a month to southern China, worth about Bt18 million. If things go as planned over the three years, we should reap annual export income of Bt1.6 million to Bt1.7 billion, totalling Bt4.8 million to Bt5.1 billion over the contract," Piti said. If the business outlook improves, IRPC also plans to increase its fleet of trucks. It expects expanded oil trade with China once Asia Highway R3A, linking Thailand, Laos and China, is completed next year. "The highway will pave the way for more trade with China, as transportation by truck is more convenient and faster," Piti said, adding that oil demand in southern China had been growing in line with the country's economic growth. China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand are expected to be the main engines to drive oil demand in the next decade.
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