Thai Oil, the country's largest refiner, said on Friday it was keen to take part in bids to upgrade refineries in Indonesia and Myanmar as part of its regional expansion in Southeast Asia.

Thai Oil, a unit of the country's top energy firm PTT Pcl , has been invited by Indonesia's state oil and gas firm Pertamina to study the possibility of upgrading its six refineries, Chief Executive Officer Veerasak Kositpaisal told reporters.

The six refineries have a combined capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day, which is insufficient to meet Indonesian demand, leading to imports of about 500,000 bpd of refined products, Veerasak said.

Thai Oil is also studying a proposal to join with Pertamina in investing in wax production in Indonesia, expected to be concluded by the end of this year, he said.

The proposed refinery upgrades are in addition to a recent announcement by another PTT unit, PTT Global Chemical Pcl , which is seeking a partner to build a new refinery at Balongan on Java island at a planned joint petrochemical complex with Pertamina.

PTT group has been aggressively boosting its presence in Southeast Asia as domestic demand slows after several months of political unrest that weakened the economy.

Thai Oil also planned to submit a bid in October to upgrade two refineries in Myanmar, Veerasak said. The winner was expected to named by the end of this year.

By Pisit Changplayngam