IPT Gas-Fired Power Plant

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Independent Power of Thailand (IPT) developed a 700 MW gas-fired combined cycle plant in the eastern coastal industrial zone in Su Racha, Chonburi. The plant was to sell power to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT, the state-owned utility) under a 25-year power purchase agreement signed in February 1997 and revised in November 1997, which was to pass through fuel, operational, and maintenance costs. Fuel was to be provided by the partially private Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) via a gas pipeline from the gas separation plant in Rayong, under a 25-year fuel ssupply agreement signed in 1997. The plant was one of the first to be developed under Thailand’s IPP program. IPT was initially owned by partially state-owned Thai Oil Power co. (56%), Unocal Asia-Pacific (24%) and Westinghouse Electric (20%). Thai Oil Power was 55% owned by Thai Oil Co., which turn was 50% owned by PTT. In April 2004, PTT purchased Westinghouse’s 20% stake and in January 2005 Thai Oil Co. purchased Unocal’s 24% stake for US$12.75 million. J-POWER had 11 % in the project by 2005 The US$320 million project closed finance in 1997, with the debt being arranged by twelve local and international banks. The debt included a US$176 million foreign currency loan with a 15-year tenor and a 17-year local currency loan. Westinghouse was the primary contractor for the project, and the plant entered service in August 2000. 2005 - The local subsidiary of the US's Unocal Corporation has agreed to sell its 24% equity interest in one of the country's operational independent power producer projects. Unocal Thailand is also seeking to offload its interests in several other power generation assets. Unocal is selling the 42.504 million shares in Independent Power Ltd to the Thai Oil Company, which currently owns 30.8% of Independent Power Ltd through its 55% stake in Thai Oil Power, which in turn owns 56% of Independent Power. The other equity investors in Thai Oil Power are a subsidiary of the state-controlled energy firm PTT with a 26% stake and Japan's J-Power with a 19% interest. PTT, which owns 50% of the Thai Oil Company, bought a 20% stake in Independent Power from Germany's Siemens in April 2004 meaning that it now directly or indirectly owns around 34.6% of the overall project. J-Power holds around 10.6% of the total shares of Independent Power, while Thai Oil will own around 54.8% on completion of the transaction with Unocal Thailand. Unocal will receive US$12.75 million for the 24% stake. This values the sale of the interest in the 700MW natural gas-fired combined cycle plant at Ao Phai in Chonburi province at around US$76/kW. Siemens had sold its 20% stake in Independent Power for around US$10 million, equivalent to US$71/kW (in both cases before taking debt into account). None