Thailand number 6 on “Pain at the pump” list BANGKOK, 16 May 2012 (NNT) – With the unproportional relation between fuel price and average daily income, Thailand has been ranked as the sixth country in the world where people are suffering from “pain at the pump”.

Leading business and financial news provider Bloomberg has recently released a list ranking 55 countries by their average fuel price and by “pain at the pump,” which is measured by the percentage of average daily income needed to buy a gallon of fuel.

Norwegians pay the highest amount of money for fuel, at 9.69 dollars/gallon, followed by Denmark (9.37 dollars/gallon), Italy (9.35 dollars/gallon), Netherlands (9.35 dollars/gallon) and Greece (9.23 dollars/gallon). However, the countries which tops the fuel price list are not those suffering most from the soaring rate given the high income per capita.

The number one country on Bloomberg’s “pain at the pump” list is India, where the fuel price is deemed slightly high at 6.06 dollars/gallon in comparison with the average daily income of only 4.50 dollars. The low income combined with the pricey fuel has resulted in the country’s energy poverty and the people’s limited access to electricity and clean energy.

Meanwhile, Thailand ranks sixth on the “pain at the pump” list, with fuel priced at 4.96 dollars/gallon in relation to an average daily income of 16 dollars.

Energy Minister, Arak Chonlatanon, said the ministry has planned an energy-saving campaign titled “1 Hour to Save Energy and Save the Nation”, which urges Thais to switch off their air-conditioning units for 1 hour, starting from 2pm to 3pm on April 10.

It is estimated that Thailand’s demand for air-conditioning will be at its highest during the mentioned period. The minister said that by switching off power for one hour, the country is expected to save as much as 1,500 megawatts.

The minister added that other ways to curb electrical use include turning off 1 non-essential light, lowering thermostats to 25 degrees Celsius and programming ac units to switch off 30 minutes before leaving the room. Following these steps can help reduce power consumption by 10 percent.

Energy Business Department Director-General Veerapol Jirapraditkul said that the energy import in February stands at the average of 1.05 million barrels per day, nearly 1 million of which are in the form of crude oil and another 100,000 in refined oil per day.

According to Mr Veerapol, the nation imported more LPG in February because one of the PTT’s gas refineries reduced its production capacity in order to check the system in compliance with its insurance plan.

Meanwhile, the Director-General said February’s refined oil export was at 210,000 barrels per day, an 11% increase from January.

The benzene consumption in February was at 20.5 million liters per day, a 0.4% increase, while the benzene 95 and 91 consumptions have reduced as a number of people have switched to gasohol instead.

The government has raised the natural gas for vehicle (NGV) price by 50 satang per kilogram, from 8 baht 50 satang to 9 baht, beginning today. Meanwhile the PTT has raised its retail benzene and diezel prices since midnight last night.

The National Energy Policy Council last week approved the resumption of oil fund levies on petrol and gasohol collection by the state Oil Fund at one baht a litre, and diesel at 0.60 baht a litre.

As a result, today the PTT has increased the prices of benzene and gasohol by 1 baht and 7 satang per litre.

The retail price of benzene 91 is at 38 baht 54 satang, E20 at 34.51 baht, gasohol 95 at 37.26 baht, and gasohol 91 at 35.51 baht per litre.

The price of diezel has increased by 64 satang, forcing the current price to stay at 31.13 baht. Meanwhile E85 has decreased by 11 satang to stand at 22.31 baht.

The gas prices have increased five times in the past two weeks, during which Benzene prices have gone up by 3.57 baht .

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After joining a meeting of the Energy Ministry’s flood relief operation unit, Mr Pachara Naripthaphan, Spokesperson of the Ministry, admitted that the floodwater currently creeping into Bangkok and its vicinities had become more of a cause for concern. Nonetheless, he assured an adequate supply of energy by the state-owned PTT, expressing confidence that utmost efforts would be made to ensure no shortages of NGV so as to avert impacts on the operations of public buses and vans.

Regarding some PTT stations which previously had to suspend their services due to inundation, Mr Pachara said the damage assessment would be conducted hastily once the water had receded, promising that the stations would reopen to motorists as quickly as possible.

Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the Ministry was planning to amend the law in order to boost the national oil reserve. Under the law, the national short-term crude oil reserve accounts for five percent of crude oil in the country. Such a percentage can support the country’s basic operation for 18 days. The Energy Ministry plans to increase the short-term reserve to last 29 days and the long-term reserve to last 90 days in accordance with energy policies of developed countries.

The Energy Business Department is considering whether the construction of the oil reserve facility should be invested by the public sector or the private sector. The Ministry is also planning to promote pipeline expansion, which it deems to help lower land transport accidents, and bridge the oil price gap between the capital and other provinces.

According to Bangchak Petroleum President Anusorn Sangnimnuan, the 25 billion THB budget will be spent on improvement of Bangchak’s refineries, production of alternative energy, and business expansion overseas.

Bangchak has planned to open gas stations throughout Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and China after the inauguration of ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. The project is expected to start next year.

The giant energy supplier is also set to increase the number of E-20 gasohol stations in the country to 600 within next year in order to meet the growing demand. Currently the number of cars using E-20 has risen to one million.

Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan announced that CEPA had decided to reduce the Oil Fund collection from Benzene 95 by 7.17 THB per liter, Benzene 91 by 8.02 THB per liter and diesel by 3 THB per liter. The resolution is in compliance with the decision of the National Energy Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

As a result, from 6.00 hrs tomorrow onwards, the retail prices of Benzene 95, Benzene 91 and diesel will drop to 39.32 THB, 34.77 THB and 26.99 THB a liter respectively.

Initially, the collection cut will take effect only for six months to one year. It is expected to cause the income of the State Oil Fund to shrink by 6.16 billion THB per month. The fund now has a cash reserve of 15.61 billion THB and a total debt of 14.61 billion THB and is estimated to be able to subsidize fuel prices until January next year.

EGAT’s Communication Director Mr. Tatree Riewcharoen said EGAT had been working with the Royal Irrigation Department in keeping the water levels safe in the dams. However, he said it was expected that the water would be released from the dams if the amount of rain continued to rise.

The Royal Irrigation Department is currently assessing the situation on the daily basis in a bid to mitigate the impact on residents should there be the need to release water into the rivers. Meanwhile, the water is being released from the Bhumibol dam at the moment for irrigation purposes, therefore; the water levels are being maintained at its capacity.

Areas above the dam, particularly on the mountains could be affected as it is still raining continuously. The water is filling the dam quickly, causing the rivers to overflow into these areas. Flood victims will be assisted and provided for to help them cope with the ordeal.

The oil price adjustment of the two companies was made due to the increase in international prices. The new retail oil prices at all PTT and Bangchak stations in Bangkok and its vicinities are as follows:

Benzene 91 now costs 43.54 baht per litre.

Gasohol 95 stands at 38.64 baht and Gasohol 91 at 36.14 baht per litre.

E20 is at 35.24 baht, while E85 at 22.82 baht per litre.

High-speed diesel remains at 29.99 baht per litre.