Star Petroleum misses January deadline, gets reprieve from Thai Ministry of Energy

Thailand’s Star Petroleum Refining Co. (SPRC) will miss a January 2012 government deadline to produce Euro IV-compliant gasoline. However, Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the ministry had approved a plan for Star Petroleum to delay its production of Euro IV-compliant gasoline for 30 days. The delay is due to a government court injunction in late 2009 which led to the suspension of 76 industrial projects for an investigation, impacting Star Petroleum’s clean fuels project, CEO William Stone told Reuters. “As a result, there is a slight schedule slippage on gasoline production. SPRC is working with government authorities and the industry for an appropriate transition grace period,” Stone said. Thailand moved to more stringent Euro IV emission standards, from the current Euro II and Euro III, on January 1. Under Euro IV, the sulfur content of gasoline and diesel fuel is capped at 50 parts per million (ppm). Stone did not say when production of Euro IV-compliant gasoline is expected to start. The company has been producing Euro IV-compliant diesel fuel since October. Star Petroleum, 64% owned by Chevron Corp. and 36% by state-owned PTT, operates a 160,000 barrel-per-day refinery in eastern Rayong province. (December 28, 2011)