The National Energy Policy Council will on November 5 propose a reduction in oil collection revenue into the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund from 10 satang to 5 satang for 1-2 years so that the price of diesel does not exceed THB30 per litre, Energy Ministry permanent secretary Kulit Sombatsiri announced on Wednesday.

A request by the Land Transport Federation of Thailand to fix the price of diesel at THB25 per litre is not feasible as the oil fund does not have enough money to subsidise up to THB10.

The oil fund is presently only THB7.14 billion and will be used to freeze the price of diesel at THB30 per litre until the end of this year.

The Oil Fund Management Committee has to prepare an additional THB20 billion loan to freeze oil prices until April 2022.

The draft loan criteria will be presented for Cabinet consideration at a meeting sometime this month.

Kulit added that Thailand imports approximately 965,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, etc.

Some 89 per cent of oil is imported and only 11 per cent, or about 100,000 barrels per day, is produced by Thailand.

Therefore, domestic oil prices have moved in accordance with world prices, he said.

Source: The Nation