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PTT plans to spend us$1.28bn (Bt43 bn) over the next five years to accommodate
the growing demand for natural gas for vehicles (NGV), with us$389m (Bt13
bn) earmarked for this year.
Executive vice president Nattachart Jaruchinda said that over the
next four years, the investment would amount to Bt10 billion per annum.
The total investment excludes the estimated Bt2-billion cost of
retrofitting 40,000-50,000 taxis to run on NGV this year.
Senior executive vice president Chitrapongse Kwangsukstith yesterday
revealed that oil retailers, including Siam United Services, Bangchak
Petroleum and IRPC, had been approaching PTT for supplies of NGV. This
follows higher demand and a marketing margin of Bt2 per kilogram,
compared with negative margins for other automotive fuels.
Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop yesterday said full promotion of
NGV had begun. She was speaking after talks with a committee monitoring
NGV service expansion, chaired by Energy deputy permanent secretary
Norkhun Sittipong. "NGV is ready on many fronts: the supply, the number
of stations and installation," she said.
PTT is currently able to supply 2,455 tonnes of NGV a day, which is 442
tonnes above demand. Its capacity will rise to 5,465 tonnes by the end
of the year. The number of trucks to deliver the gas has also risen to
496, from 312 last year, and will rise to 933 by the end of the year.
There were 214 NGV stations around the country last month, and this
number is expected to rise to 355 within six months. This month alone,
41 stations will begin operations. The stations are categorised into
three groups: one to cater for personal cars, another for taxis and a
third for large vehicles on highways and at lorry terminals.
The number of garages capable of equipping vehicles to use NGV will
also rise above the present 114. The Energy Ministry has joined with
vocational schools and the Skills Development Department to train
students on NGV installation. They will work primarily at taxi
terminals.
Poonpirom said measures are in hand to ensure that service stations do
not run out of gas. Last month, NGV stations that did run out of gas
had supplies delivered within 15 minutes, compared with past delays of
three or four hours. The frequency of such shortages was also down from
45 a day to 10.
"The ministry invites those who are planning to switch from liquefied
petroleum gas to NGV to do so now, because we're ready on all fronts,"
she said. The minister said the price of NGV would be maintained at
Bt8.50 a kilogram for the rest of the year. It will be raised to Bt12 a
kilogram next year and Bt13 in 2010. Then, the price will be floated
but not exceed half the price of diesel.
As of last month, there were 84,161 vehicles in Thailand running on
NGV. Of these, 67,833 were previously driven by petrol and 13,247 by
diesel. The remaining 3,081 units were equipped with NGV engines in the
factory.
PetrolWorld 030708 us$1 = 33.36Th Baht
Editors
Note: Petronas of Malaysia has played a significant role in the
development of NGV with PTT a number of years ago. PetrolWorld's editor
visited Bangkok back in 2001 and 2002 to review the Petronas NGV
vehicles that were on trial with PTT.
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