| BANGKOK, THAILAND—October 9, 2009—IRPC Plc., Thailand’s leading integrated petrochemical company, today announced it is allying with GE Energy and General Carbon Pte. Ltd. (GCPL) to register a proposed cogeneration power plant at its petrochemical complex in Rayong province as a milestone Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. The CDM program is an international emissions-reduction initiative overseen by the United Nations. IRPC today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with GE and GCPL to seek project approval from the board that oversees the CDM program. If approved, IRPC would become the first company in the world to receive certified emissions reduction credits (CERs) for reducing emissions after converting to a new energy technology that uses cleaner-burning natural gas. IRPC plans to replace the petrochemical complex’s older, less-efficient fuel oil power plant with a new, 200-megawatt (MW), natural gas-fueled cogeneration plant. The project is planned to help improve the facility’s energy efficiency, reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air emissions in this industrial area. The proposed cogeneration plant would be powered by six Frame 6B gas turbines supplied by GE Oil & Gas and would provide a cleaner source of power and steam for IRPC’s operations. The new CHP plant is expected to enable IRPC to reduce its emissions by an estimated 400,000 tons of CO2 equivalents per year, making the project eligible for 400,000 “certified emissions reduction” credits (CERs) that could be sold in the global carbon marketplace. Under the MOU, GCPL plans to develop the project design document and manage the CDM process through to registration with the CDM’s executive board. GCPL also will facilitate the monetization of the carbon credits for IRPC if the natural gas cogeneration plant is successfully registered. “We are excited to join with GE Energy and Global Carbon to explore the potential benefits of this ‘first of its kind’ carbon credit project for our new CHP power plant. We are proud because it shows that going green is good for business. If successful, the carbon credits will be a bonus for our initiative to reduce our carbon footprint,” said IRPC Chief Executive Officer, Dr.Pailin Chuchottaworn. IRPC has been exploring the carbon credit opportunity with GE Energy and GCPL since its initial consideration of the CHP project in 2007. IRPC’s CHP project also could potentially be one of Thailand’s largest CDM projects in terms of volume of CO2 reduced. The reduction of about 400,000 tons of CO2 is equivalent to the carbon emissions of 93,000 Thai people a year1 . Established under the international Kyoto Protocol, CDM allows developing countries to offset their investments in cleaner energy projects by selling CERs from these projects to developed countries that exceed their emissions quota. “This is a significant CDM demonstration project for Thailand and the rest of the world. It also offers an important example of the numerous potential benefits involving gas-based cogeneration,” said Kovit Kantapasara, GE Energy Country Executive for Thailand and Indochina. Presently, IRPC’s existing fuel-oil power plant generates 48 MW of power and IRPC still needs to buy an additional 100 MW from the local grid to meet the total energy requirements of its Rayong petrochemical complex. In comparison, when completed, the new gas-fired cogeneration plant would have a capacity of 200MW, capable of supplying all of IRPC’s refinery requirements. 1 Thailand emissions at 4.3t of CO2 per capita in 2004 About IRPCIRPC Public Company Limited or IRPC is a producer of integrated petrochemical products. Its complex consists of an upstream, an oil refinery unit and a downstream petrochemical production. The company's oil refinery unit has the total capacity of 215,000 barrels per day, accounting for 21% of the country's total refining capacity. The IRPC's production complex is located in an industrial estate managed by the company in Rayong. The estate provides necessary infrastructures that are used to support the production including a deep-sea port, oil storage tanks and a power plant. http://www.irpc.co.th About General CarbonGeneral Carbon (http://www.general-carbon.com) provides strategic, technical and financial services across major emission markets. We are a leading advisor and investor with expertise across the carbon value chain, from developing projects to monetizing emission offsets. Our strategy of combining consulting with investing enables us to deliver superior financial returns for our stakeholders. About GE EnergyGE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2008 revenue of $29.3 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE’s corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges. About GEGE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work. For more information, contact:
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