Thai Oil Public Company Ltd’s Sriracha plant is the country’s largest single-site refinery and one of the most complex oil processing facilities, with a total capacity of 220,000 barrels a day, according to ABB.
The company expects the project will take 23 months, beginning with extensive preparations to reduce the amount of time the plant would be off-line.
The refurbishment of a crude oil distillation unit will raise its capacity from 16,000 to 24,000 tonnes a day, says the company.
It also plans to install two new process units to purify kerosene and remove sulphur compounds from flue gasses.
In September, ABB said it aimed to double its operating profit margin by 2009 and unveiled its first detailed strategy since its financial turnaround last year.
ABB, which makes industrial robots and electrical motors in addition to supplying the oil and gas industry, undertook a major revamp when asbestos claims and massive debts nearly closed the company four years ago.
