BANGKOK — As Thailand’s tourism has rebounded, aviation fuel use has soared 17.9%. This contrasts with car fuel consumption in the first five months, which was down.
Sarawut Kaewtatip, Director General of the Department of Energy Industry, announced on July 6 that the average fuel consumption from January to May 2024 was 157.13 million liters per day, a decrease of 0.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
This includes a 21.6 percent decrease in heating oil and a 16.6 percent decrease in compressed natural gas (NGV) for vehicles, which averages 2.91 million kilograms per day.
Petrol consumption fell by 1.0 percent and averaged 31.59 million liters per day. Specifically, the consumption of E85 petrol fell to 0.07 million liters per day, benzene to 0.42 million liters per day, E20 petrol to 5.48 million liters per day and 95 petrol to 17.46 million liters per day. Meanwhile, the consumption of gasohol 91 to 7.83 million liters per day.
In contrast, the consumption of kerosene for commercial aviation (Jet A1) rose by 17.9 percent and averaged 16.08 million liters per day. This increase is due to the recovery during the tourism season and the government’s decision to allow citizens from 93 countries to enter Thailand visa-free (for stays of up to 60 days). This measure is expected to boost international tourist flows.
The consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, rose by 3.8 percent and averaged 18.01 million kilograms per day. This includes an increase of 9.3 percent in the petrochemical sector to 8.03 million kilograms per day, an increase of 2.8 percent in the transport sector to 2.32 million kilograms per day, while consumption in industry fell by 3.4 percent to 1.96 million kilograms per day and consumption in households fell by 0.4 percent to 5.71 million kilograms per day.
The consumption of diesel fuel at filling stations rose by 3.2 percent and averaged 69.30 million liters per day. The consumption of standard diesel fuel rose by 3.2 percent year-on-year to 69.14 million liters per day, while the consumption of B20 diesel fuel fell by 2.8 percent year-on-year to 0.15 million liters per day.
This trend is in line with the decline in fuel imports, which averaged 1.04 million barrels per day in the first five months of this year, a decrease of 3.0 percent compared to the same period last year.
The total value of imports amounted to 99.9 billion baht per month. Crude oil imports averaged 986,155 barrels per day, a decrease of 1.7 percent, with an import value of 95 billion baht per month. Exports of refined oil averaged 155,148 barrels per day in the first five months of this year, an increase of 1.3 percent, with a total export value of 16 billion baht per month.
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