Thai oil refiner Star Petroleum Refining Company (SPRC) is expected to sell at least a 30 per cent stake in an initial public offering in the second quarter of 2015, a senior official at the Thai energy ministry said.

The ministry signed an agreement with SPRC to change some of the terms of its refinery contract, which allows state-controlled PTT to dilute its 36-per cent holding in SPRC, Witoon Kulcharoenwirat, director general of the ministry’s Department of Energy Business, told reporters.

The new terms do not require PTT and major shareholder Chevron to maintain their holdings in SPRC, Witoon said adding the IPO should be launched within six months after signing the contract. He gave no detail about the value of the IPO.

Under the previous conditions, PTT was required to maintain a stake of at least 25 per cent in SPRC after the IPO.

PTT, the country’s largest energy company which has interests in five of the six oil refineries in Thailand, has long wanted to dilute its holding in SPRC to reduce criticism that it holds a monopoly in the domestic oil and gas business.

The listing has been delayed for several years by regulation and negotiations with oil giant Chevron, which owns 64 per cent of SPRC.
SPRC operates a 160,000 barrel-per-day refinery in eastern Rayong province.