BANGKOK, 21 April 2011 – PTT Plc is prepared to seek the Ministry of Energy’s permission to increase the price of natural gas for vehicle (NGV) in May to alleviate its burden caused by the Government’s price pegging policy.
PTT President and CEO Prasert Bunsumpun stated that the company was planning to file a letter with the Energy Ministry within next month to propose that the NGV price be adjusted up. He indicated that the Government had been retaining the NGV retail price at 8.50 THB per kilogram, whereas the production cost had already risen to 14.50 THB. If the price freezing policy continues for the whole year, PTT would suffer an additional 10 billion THB loss.
In response to PTT’s wish to raise the price of NGV, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva noted that the move would go against the Government’s policy to promote the use of NGV. He added that it would also narrow the price gap between NGV and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and thus suggested that its long-term impact be assessed carefully beforehand.
