Energy Minister Viset Choopiban said yesterday that the country's retail petrol prices were unlikely to surpass Bt30 a litre despite global oil prices continuing their skyward climb.

After the latest hike on Sunday, retail petrol and diesel prices were both at record highs. Premium petrol is now being sold at Bt27.94 per litre and regular petrol at Bt27.14 per litre. High-speed diesel is at Bt26.29 per litre.

"The petrol supply may be tight during the summer, which is the peak period for tourism, but we already have plans for that," Viset said.

He attributed the rising oil prices to the dispute with Iran. The country has refused to cooperate with United Nations over its nuclear programme, prompting some countries to consider sanctions on the oil-producing nation.

Viset said the ministry was prepared for possible petrol shortages and would import oil or tap the country's oil reserve if needed. A source from the ministry said that the country might have to import diesel by the middle of this month, if consumption rose.

However, Viset said diesel shortages were unlikely and the price should not hit Bt30 because the beginning of the year, the peak season for diesel consumption, had passed.

Fuel consumption remains lower than last year, possibly because of rising prices. Daily petrol use so far this year is around 19 million to 20 million litres, compared with an average 21 million to 22 million litres last year, while daily use of diesel is around 50 million litres while it was around 53 million litres last year.

The minister said oil companies and petrol station owners should discuss oil retailers' calls for an increased marketing margin. The ministry has no plan to intervene in the issue, he said.

Meanwhile, the government hopes to campaign to cut state energy consumption by 10 per cent as the government's agencies last year managed to reduce their fuel use by Bt5.24 billion.

Acting Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam revealed that 30 per cent of the Bt100-billion budget that the government allocated to state agencies each year was spent on the public utilities. He said without continuous energy saving campaigns, the situation would worsen because of the high fuel prices. He called for coordination among government offices to reduce power consumption.

Viset said the campaign had been a success citing the 5,394 state agencies that submitted detailed reports on their use of electricity last year, compared to 171 in 2004. The most successful agency was the Department of Social Development and Welfare, which managed to cut energy consumption by 36 per cent.

The Office of Permanent Secretary to Agriculture Ministry and the Insurance Department reduced energy consumption

by 32 and 29 per cent respectively.

Sa Kaew province saw its fuel consumption fall 32 per cent, Trat by 29 per cent and Maha Sarakham by 28 per cent, he said. 

The Nation,

Dow Jones Newswires