Ang Thong depot probed as government targets fuel profiteering

The government has formed a special task force to inspect all oil depots nationwide to ensure that they are not hoarding fuel for profiteering, as the Energy Business Department today issued an edict requiring oil traders to report their oil stocks to the department on a daily basis, effective immediately.

Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, in his capacity as head of the Joint Management and Monitoring Centre for the Situation in the Middle East, said today that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had ordered the establishment of the special task force.

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Atthapol Rerkpiboon said officials in all provinces have been instructed to monitor the operations of all service stations and oil depots for signs of fuel hoarding.

One oil depot in Ang Thong province was searched by Crime Suppression Division officers and was found to be storing more than 330,000 litres of finished oil products, allegedly for profiteering.

According to the edict issued today, oil traders under Section 7 of the Energy Trading Act are required to maintain daily reserves of crude oil and finished oil products at no less than 70% of the mandated levels.

Oil traders may choose to store composition oil or crude oil as reserves instead of finished oil products, or store finished oil products instead of crude oil at a 1:1 ratio, provided that no more than 20% of each type of finished oil product required as reserves is substituted.

Composition oil is oil that can readily be blended or upgraded into benzine, gasohol, high-speed diesel or jet fuel.