By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
For SK Engineering & Construction, Thailand is a land of opportunity to expand its overseas footsteps as a global contractor.
Early this month, the South Korean company signed a $170 million refinery expansion deal with PTT, Thailand's top oil and gas firm. The contract from PTT's affiliate Rayang Refinery Public Company (RRC) calls for the firm to build upgrading facilities that turn benzene, toluene, and xylene residue into naphtha, diesel and jet fuel.
The units to be built by February 2009 are likely to raise RRC's daily crude processing capacity to 200,000 barrels from 145,000 barrels, according to the company.
The deal brought the total value of contracts booked by SK in Thailand to $1.7 billion.
``As the Thai government is accelerating efforts for further construction of chemical plants for economic development, we expect to win more contracts based on accumulated experiences in the field,'' an SK spokesperson said.
SK Engineering & Construction, established in 1977, is an affiliate of SK Group that also owns the country's top oil refiner SK Energy, top telecom firm SK Telecom and chemical products manufacturer SK Chemicals.