The Energy Ministry in cooperation with the Land Transport Department is surveying the actual number of carburettor-driven vehicles.

While expecting them to be only in the tens of thousands, against earlier forecasts of hundreds of thousands, the ministry is prepared to launch a campaign for free engine overhauls so that the vehicles can be driven by gasohol, which could pave the way for the total scrapping of octane-95 petrol distribution.

Metta Banterngsook, director-general of the Energy Business Department, said preliminary results showed the number of those cars, sold before 1995, was less than 100,000 units. He also believed that after 12 years of use, some of the cars could have had their engines overhauled. The survey, to be completed in the next few weeks, would help the ministry design its free engine-overhaul campaign.

"Through this survey, we have no objective to pressure those car owners to use gasohol. We want information to formulate supporting measures, when octane-95 petrol sale volume drops against higher gasohol consumption. That could cause inconvenience to the car owners," Metta said.

The ministry is on a mission to boost gasohol sales in the provinces. A budget of Bt20 million has been set aside to help independent petrol station operators - which are small and lack funds - to clean their oil tanks to accommodate gasohol.

Higher oil prices have encouraged motorists to use more gasohol. In the first four months of this year, daily average gasohol consumption reached 3.7 million litres. In April, it was 4 million litres. In the same period, natural gas for vehicles also recorded higher sales, up nearly 100 per cent from 8.5 million cubic feet daily to 16.8 million.

Metta noted that diesel and petrol consumption dropped in April. Octane-95 petrol consumption, in particular, dropped 20.4 per cent from 4.6 million litres a day to 3.6 million litres.

Crude oil imports edged up only 0.5 per cent in the first four months, from 821,000 barrels a day to 825,000 barrels. Import value dropped 12.5 per cent from Bt240.38 billion to Bt210 billion, due mainly to the strong baht appreciating 9 per cent against the US dollar.

Oil companies expect retail oil prices will be increased soon due to the recent spike in global prices.

Adul Chaiaroon, deputy director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, said Dubai crude oil could stay at US$60-$70 (Bt2,073-2,418) per barrel throughout this month, and this would keep finished octane-95 petrol and diesel prices in Singapore at $80-$90 and $75-$85 a barrel, respectively.