BANGKOK, May 30 (TNA) – Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Friday thanked oil refineries under the umbrella of Thailand's energy giant PTT Plc for their decision to reduce the ex-refinery diesel fuel price by 3 baht per litre for six months, as requested by the Energy Ministry.
Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop and executives of Thai Oil, PTT, IRPC, and Bangchak Petroleum met Friday to discuss the ministry's request for oil refineries to cut their ex-refinery diesel prices to help ease energy costs of the public.
The meeting ended with the refineries agreeing to reduce the price by 3 baht per litre for six months starting from June until late November.
Speaking after attending the meeting to observe the discussion, Mr. Samak, who is also the defence minister, said he had to appreciate the refineries' decision which he believed could boost the government's efforts to cope with surging energy costs.
"We have to thank the oil refineries because their decision to cut the ex-refinery diesel price by 3 baht per litre for six months not only helps the Energy Ministry, but also the Transport and Agriculture Ministries and the government," he said.
The premier said he had also asked some executives why Thailand's domestic oil prices must be linked with the refinery price in Singapore, despite the fact that there are not many oil refineries in the country.
The executives explained that there are about 300 oil dealers in Singapore, and fuel prices in the Singapore markets move according to market mechanism.
Should oil prices in this region be low, producers would opt to have crude oil refined in Singapore, but if oil prices in the region were high, they would choose other countries for oil refining.
In short, he said, domestic oil prices are determined by business and trade activities in Singapore as well as in Thailand. (TNA)-E005
Business News : Last Update : 15:09:26 30 May 2008 (GMT+7:00)
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