Thai PTT plans to list Star Petroleum in Q1/2007

Thursday, August 10th 2006

Thailand’s Star Petroleum Refining Co (SPRC) will sell a 30 percent stake in an initial public offering in the first quarter of 2007, top energy firm PTT PCL , a major shareholder, said on Wednesday.

The listing, which would dilute PTT’s holding to 25 percent from 36 percent, was in line with an agreement made between oil companies and the government more than 10 years ago, PTT president Prasert Bunsumpun told Reuters.

The agreement, made when the government let oil companies build refineries in Thailand, requires them to float shares on the Thai stock market.

SPRC operates a complex refinery with capacity of 150,000 barrels per day. A Thai unit of U.S. oil firm Chevron owns the remaining 64 percent of it.

The Chevron unit’s holding would be cut to 45 percent after the listing and Chevron had appointed Thanachart Securities and BNP Paribas as financial advisers for the IPO, Prasert said.

PTT had planned to merge SPRC with its Rayong Refinery unit and list the merged firm on the Thai bourse. It scrapped the plan and decided to list Rayong separately as negotiations with Chevron foundered on differences on details.

PTT controls more than 30 petroleum, gas and oil exploration, refining and petrochemical businesses.

There are seven crude refineries in Thailand and PTT holds sizable stakes in five of them — including Thai Oil PCL , Bangchak Petroleum PCL and a refining unit of Thai Petrochemical Industry . ($1 = 37.59 baht)