Bangchak will expand sales points if govt backs biodiesel
If the government agrees to support biodiesel, which is now selling at below retail cost, Bangchak Petroleum Plc will expand its sales points for the alternative fuel from the current 12 to 100 stations.
President Anusorn Sangnimnuan said yesterday that demand for biodiesel from the agricultural sector was now on the rise.The government should continue its public campaign for biodiesel, he said. Bangchak buys B-100 formula biodiesel at Bt26 per litre, while selling it at Bt21 per litre. The government should subsidise the Bt5 difference being borne by the company, he said. The company has a plan to invest Bt1 billion in its own biodiesel plant with production capacity of 300,000 litres a day, which would help reduce costs. The Energy Ministry is expected to approve the project within a few months. Bangchak now sells 400,000 litres of B5 formula, or 5-per-cent, biodiesel per day. Anusorn said the company would produce B10 biodiesel in the future if the government and carmakers agree to use it. He said B10 was just as good as B5 but cost less to make. Bangchak yesterday launched gasohol Super Fast 91 and 95, mixed with Boost up Cleaner, to relieve the oil price situation. This new formula helps clean the engine and offers more complete combustion and lower harmful emissions, it said. By next quarter, the number of its stations pumping gasohol 91 will increase to 250 nationwide, from 150 now. Bangchak also introduced a gasohol club card giving members a discount of 20 satang per litre on 91 gasohol. And next month, about 500 people who discover the "Super Fast 91 and 95" signs on a A4 sheet of paper hidden in various places around Bangkok will win a free gasohol card worth Bt1,000. Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul The Nation
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