Thailand Energy Minister disputes fuel usage data

Thailand's Energy Minister, Akanat Promphan, has contested fuel consumption data presented by Democrat Party member Korn Chatikavanij. The dispute arose following opposition to tax reduction measures for B20 and E20 biofuels, which critics argued had insufficient usage to significantly benefit the public.

Minister Akanat clarified that B7 diesel usage stands at 52 million liters per day, while B20 usage is 6 million liters per day. He emphasized that biofuel usage has potential for growth, which would support Thai agricultural products like palm oil, sugarcane, and cassava while reducing crude oil imports.

To address structural pricing issues, the Ministry of Energy is working to eliminate hidden costs in the fuel structure, including transportation, insurance, and certain reserves. The Minister noted that recent measures to manage refinery margins have cost approximately 30,000 million baht to stabilize diesel prices. The removal of hidden costs is expected to save more than 10,000 million baht.