Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC)

Recognizing the importance of Science and Technology Education and Researcher Development which forms a solid base for country development, PTTEP together with PTT Group has set up the Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), the first Graduate Research Intensive University in Thailand, with an aim to enhance the country’s competitiveness for ensuring sustainable development of Thailand. VISTEC aims to grant 60 scholarships per year.  In 2015, the first batch of 56 successful candidates enrolled for Master-Ph.D. Program.  In addition, PTTEP grants 2 PTT-Vidyasirimedhi scholarships for Undergraduate Program.

33 scholars who finish their study under this program work with PTT Group in 2022.

Furthermore, PTTEP and VISTEC collaborate on a technology research and development to increase its competitive advantage and in turn contribute benefit to the energy sector of the country.  Samples of projects include

CO2 Conversion to Carbonate-based Product

A research on catalyst development and process design to convert Carbon Dioxide to carbonate based product that can be used as a feedstock for plastic and petrochemical industry and also help reducing greenhouse gas emission. The project aims to develop the production to commercial scale.

Multifunction chemical for hydrocarbon extraction/ recovery

A research on the demulsifier development for oil/water separation in crude oil production under low temperature using low temperature using low-cost recoverable Ionic Liquid (IL). The project aims to enhance oil/water extraction process and reduce operation cost.

Advance Coating by Graphene on Metal Substance

A research on the graphene coating on low-cost metal such as carbon steel, stainless steel to protect erosion in pipeline and production equipment. The project aims to apply the coating method to reduce the operation cost.

Direct Methane Conversion to Methanol

A research on the process development to convert natural gas to methanol directly, instead of conventional 2-step approach for small-scale natural gas conversion application.

Lithium-Sulfur Battery Development

A research on the Lithium-Sulfur battery development which has higher energy density than the current commercial technology in order to apply for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and robots.

PTTEP has carried out analysis on Social Return on Investment (SROI) of this project by measuring the social impact of the program with the financial quantification calculation (monetization). This method is intended to measure the value of the financial impact of the program that compares to the value of the impact to the cost of the program that has been invested into. It appears that the value of the SROI ratio is 1.24: 1