Thailand’s Ministry of Energy has this week resolved to conditionally float the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles effective July 16 and to review the price on the 16th of each month thereafter, based on the pool gas price of the previous month. The decision, made by the Energy Policy Administrative Committee, seeks to address the long-standing problem of having dispenser prices not reflect more accurately the cost of fuel. The policy relates only to natural gas sold within 50 kilometers of Bangkok.
Between now and July, the Ministry will seek gas supplier PTT Plc’s cooperation to keep the retail price of natural gas for passenger vehicles at BHT 13.50 (USD 0.37) per kilogram, which was set on 7 September last year. The price paid by CNG bus operators is fixed at BHT 10 (USD 0.28) per kilogram.
The CNG price outside the 50 km zone is BHT 16.7 (USD 0.47) per kilogram. The Energy Research Institute of Chulalongkorn University says the higher price of fuel is due to transportation costs. Because diesel is expected to drop significantly in price based on the dropping oil price, it is anticipated the reduced cost of transporting fuel will be passed on to the consumer.
(Source: Energy Policy and Planning Office, Ministry of Energy, Thailand)
