Thailand first to sell E85 in Asia, claim
BANGKOK ¬ Thailand’s PTT Plc has become the first oil company in Asia to sell E85, but the 85 percent ethanol blended fuel will hardly be a money-maker for the first few months, says a report in Bangkok Post.
In fact, the only customers for E85 will be car companies testing their imported flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) and the handful of drivers who have purchased them to date, says the report.
Those drivers who do fill up at the one PTT station carrying the fuel at present will be getting quite a bargain. At Bt20 (US$0.60) per litre, E85 costs 48 percent less than premium petrol, 30 percent less than 95-octane petrol and 27 percent less than E20.
The retail price will be reviewed next week by the National Energy Policy Council, which will also set the levy paid to the state Oil Fund as well as the subsidy programme.
The PTT chief executive and president, Prasert Bunsumpun, said five FFVs were part of the test run, including the Volvo S40 and C30 and the Chevrolet Impala LT from General Motors.
”We plan to step forward to encourage automobile manufacturers to produce FFV cars here in parallel with the government’s alternative fuel promotion,” he said.
PTT plans to open E85 pumps at 14 stations by the end of this year and its subsidiary, Bangchak Petroleum, will launch E85 in October at 14 of its service stations.
Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop said Japanese car companies are planning to import their FFV models for E85 tests in Thailand soon. She said the government was considering waiving import duties for FFVs and offering investment privileges to encourage car companies to set up FFV production in Thailand.
Local ethanol manufacturers are currently producing 1.5 million litres a day and their output is forecast to double by the end of 2009.
Filed under: Thailand, biofuel, cars, oil companies