BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai petrochemical refiner IRPC IRPC.BK said on Monday it had delayed plans for a $1.3 billion upgrade due to concerns about rising financial costs as a result of the U.S. subprime crisis.

“We have to review the budget. Now global markets are facing the same problem about financing, which is the result of the subprime crisis,” Chief Executive Piti Yimprasert told reporters.
But IRPC, 35 percent-owned by energy firm PTT PCL PTT.BK, was on track to invest $1.4 billion during 2007-2011 to raise its refining capacity to 260,0000 barrels per day by 2011, Piti said.
The firm had initially planned to invest another $1 billion to refine residue such as asphalt into high value products as part of its plan to maximise the use of its feedstock, Piti said.
IRPC, formerly Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI), has focused on improving efficiency and cost cuts since it completed a $2.7 billion debt restructuring in 2006. It has a theoretical capacity at 215,000 bpd.
TPI was Thailand's largest corporate debt defaulter after collapsing under a mountain of foreign debt during the 1997/1998 Asian economic crisis.
IRPC shares were down 1 percent at 3.98 baht on Monday, when the main Thai .SETI was down 0.59 percent. ($1 = 33.52 Baht)