Shares of Thai Oil Pcl (SET: TOP) staged a notable recovery on Friday, erasing early losses to up 2.11% as of 15:31 Bangkok time. The rebound followed reports of a fire at Chevron’s El Segundo oil refinery in Los Angeles County, a development seen as having short-term positive sentiment for refinery stocks.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed the incident via X (formerly Twitter) late Thursday, stating that the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Authorities have not yet released an official assessment of the potential impact.
In a note to clients, Kasikorn Securities states that the fire could act as a short-term positive sentiment driver for refinery stocks, as it may tighten supply and push up refined product margins, particularly for gasoline.
The El Segundo refinery, which began operations in 1911, has a refining capacity of 290,000 barrels per day—comparable to that of Thai Oil. According to Chevron’s official website, the complex houses about 150 major tanks with a total storage capacity of 12.5 million barrels, mostly producing gasoline (45%), diesel (41%), and jet fuel.
The broker reiterated its preference for Thai Oil (TOP) within the refining sector, maintaining a “Buy” recommendation and a target price of THB 39.50 per share.
Other refinery-related stocks also posted gains on Friday, with Star Petroleum Refining (SPRC) up 1.28% and IRPC rising 0.88%. By contrast, Bangchak Corporation (BCP) edged down 0.81%.
Market analysts noted that while the magnitude of the operational disruption at El Segundo is still uncertain, any prolonged outage could support refining margins across Asia, benefiting regional players such as Thai Oil in the near term.
