SET-listed energy conglomerate Bangchak Corporation aims to expand its energy logistics business after shareholders approved a plan to take over Esso (Thailand) Plc.
Chaiwat Kovavisarach, chief executive of Bangchak Group, said the company is planning long-term investment through its subsidiary Bangkok Fuel Pipeline and Logistics Co (BFPL) with the aim of racking up more revenue.
Established in 2021, BFPL provides a service to transport oil, including gasoline and diesel, through pipelines from Bangchak and other customers to an oil terminal in Ayutthaya’s Bang Pa-in district and to aviation fuel depots at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports.
Mr Chaiwat did not elaborate on the details of the new investment.
He was giving an interview after the majority of shareholders voted on April 11 for the buyout of a 65.99% share in Esso (Thailand) from ExxonMobil Asia Holdings Pte.
Bangchak will launch a tender offer for the remaining 34.01% of ordinary shares held by other shareholders of Esso.
Esso retains the finished lubricant and chemical marketing businesses, which will be operated by ExxonMobil Marketing (Thailand).
The acquisition of Esso not only grows Bangchak’s oil refinery and retail businesses but is also expected to reduce Bangchak’s logistics costs.
Besides its oil terminal in Ayutthaya, Bangchak also owns an oil refinery complex in Bangkok’s Phra
Khanong district and, through its shareholding in Fuel Pipeline Transportation, Bangchak operates an oil terminal in the northern province of Lampang.
Esso runs an oil terminal in Chon Buri’s Sri Racha district.
Bangchak also earlier acquired the entire shareholding in Asia Link Terminal Co, a provider of oil storage services, in a move aimed at expanding its businesses related to oil terminal and seaport projects.
The investment was made through BCPG Plc, Bangchak’s clean power generation arm.
Asia Link is a unit of Singapore-based Pan Asia Storage & Terminal Co, a logistics service provider that runs businesses across Asia.
Asia Link operates oil terminal and seaport businesses in Phetchaburi province. It provides infrastructure supporting the energy sector, which can generate recurring revenue in accordance with Bangchak’s business plans and investment direction.
This share purchase deal came a month after Bangchak announced it had fully entered into the energy logistics business by supplying liquefied natural gas to factories located outside the service area of onshore gas pipeline networks.
