Thaioil Ethanol, or TET, and Bangchak Petroleum Public, or BCP, are in the middle of finalizing the acquisition of shares in Ubon Bio Ethanol Company and the percentage of purchased shares may be higher than earlier announced, officials from both companies said. Parent company of TET, ThaiOil, announced at the end of February that TET and BCP will take up an overall 42.56% stake in Ubon Bio Ethanol. TET will invest Baht 749 million ($24.5 million) in Ubon for a 21.28% stake while BCP will also acquire at 21.28% share at the same price of Baht 749 million.
According to a company official from BCP, it is likely that both BCP and TET will take a 30% stake in Ubon, instead of the original 21.28%, while Ubon retains 40% of the shareholding in the company. Offtake volumes will also be split in the same percentages, although sales will be conducted at arm's length, the official from ThaiOil said. "If our joint venture plants get a better price for the ethanol outside, we will not stop them from selling to them," said the ThaiOil source. The cassava-based bioethanol facility in Na Dee, Na Yia, eastern Ubonratchathani, which has a design capacity of 400,000 liters/day or 132 million liters/year, is expected to start commercial operations in June 2012.
This project is ThaiOil's third bioethanol joint venture. Apart from Ubon and TET, ThaiOil also has a stake in Sapthip Company Limited which owns a 200,000 l/d cassava-based bioethanol plant at Lopburi.
