New steps needed to boost use of gasohol
Thailand's energy authorities have been urged to limit the number of retail fuel stations selling octane-95 petrol to encourage motorists to switch to gasohol, following a lower-than-expected growth in gasohol consumption.
Bangchak Petroleum president Anusorn Sangnimnuan said gasohol consumption had grown only 4 per cent, compared with the target of 10 per cent, despite subsidies that keep the gasohol 95 price Bt2.50 cheaper than octane-95 petrol. "Pricing may not be the only mechanism to encourage consumers to switch to gasohol," he said yesterday. "There are a large number of motorists who still stick with octane-95 petrol, aside from those who are still using cars with carburettor engines." Additional measures are necessary, including a reduction in the number of stations selling octane-95 petrol. Bangchak plans to reduce the number of its stations selling octane-95 petrol to only 50 by the end of this year, from 80 at present, he said. The number has been reduced continuously, as Bangchak originally sold octane-95 petrol at more than 1,000 stations. Anusorn said it is important to boost gasohol consumption to help ethanol producers, who have been affected by the government's decision not to ban octane-95 petrol sales. The decision means only 400,000 litres of ethanol are needed on a daily basis, compared to the combined capacity of more than 700,000 litres a day. "Exporting ethanol is not an easy process either," Anusorn said. Although the pricing strategy is having trouble boosting gasohol 95 consumption, it is helping to raise gasohol 91 consumption because its price is Bt2 per litre cheaper than octane-91 petrol. At present, about 10 million litres of gasohol 91 are sold daily and by the end of this year, the volume could rise to 20 million litres, Anusorn said. To further boost demand, Bangchak has recently joined in a research project with King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Lat Krabang to compare the quality of octane-91 petrol and gasohol 91. He also said there is an increasing demand for biodiesel, and Bangchak is expanding to 500 the number of its stations selling B5 diesel, which is mixed with a vegetable oil-based diesel at a 95:5 ratio. Sales volume is expected to rise to 35 million litres per month this year, from 20 million at present.
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