Thailand's top energy firm, PTT has put a long-awaited group consolidation plan on hold because it wants to focus on legal problems at affiliate IRPC and other matters, a banking source with knowledge of the plan said.

State-controlled PTT wants to consolidate its petrochemical and refinery businesses. This had been widely expected to involve a merger between IRPC and PTT Aromatics and Refining (PTTAR) to create Asia's eighth-largest oil refiner.

The legal problems at IRPC have triggered speculation that PTT may consider a possible merger between PTTAR and PTT Chemical, leaving out IRPC.

The consolidation plan has helped boost the share prices of the affiliates on expectations the move would help cut costs and boost efficiency within the PTT group. But the process has been repeatedly pushed back and previous reports of delays have hurt the shares.
"PTT group's consolidation plan is on hold indefinitely because PTT wants to focus on other important business issues," the source, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

The source said an investigation by the national anti-corruption agency into a case involving the rehabilitation of IRPC, formerly Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI), was one factor behind the delay.