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PTT has Bt43-bn commitment to meet demand: Huge investment to be spread over next five years |
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PTT plans to spend Bt43 billion over the next five years to accommodate the growing demand for natural gas for vehicles (NGV), with Bt13 billion 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. |
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The Nation, 04.07.2008 |
