Deputy permanent secretary Pornchai Rujiprapha said yesterday that the flotation, which was scheduled for July 1, would be delayed. "In floating the price, we need to wait for the right timing and we need to take into account the world gas price as well as other measures to alleviate the burden on consumers," he said.

Pornchai said that when the time was right, the price would be floated without prior warning. "We don't want people to hoard gas to make profits later."

This month, cooking gas has stayed at US$470 (Bt18,030) per tonne, unchanged from May. At present, the Oil Fund subsidises cooking gas consumed in the Kingdom by Bt2 per kilogram, or Bt460 million per month.

The flotation was planned earlier to relieve the Oil Fund from the subsidy, which has expanded quickly since world oil prices soared and has encouraged some motorists - particularly taxi drivers - to switch from other fuels to cooking gas.

Pornchai said the ministry had outlined measures to help taxi owners switch to natural gas for vehicles (NGV) which is safer than using cooking gas. He said drivers may not need to pay upfront for NGV engine installation.

Drivers of household cars will also be encouraged to switch to NGV, through a loan scheme as well as the expansion of NGV filling stations.

At present, there are only 60 NGV stations nationwide, but there are plans to increase the number to 200 by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, soaring oil prices have led to lower fuel consumption. In May, diesel consumption was 52.07 million litres per day, down 6.76 million litres or 11.5 per cent from the same period last year.

Petrol consumption also dropped, by 2.24 million litres per day or 12.1 per cent from the same period last year, to 16.2 million litres per day.

Energy Reporters

The Nation