Where does the money that goes into the Oil Fund come from?: In order to subsidize LPG retail prices, the Oil Fund receives regular income from Oil Fund Tax levied on importers and domestic producers. (See Percentage of unleaded gasoline retail price going to various taxes ) The National Energy Policy Office (NEPO), as secretariat of the Oil Fund, is responsible for calculating tax level that would go to the Oil Fund, by considering the changes in influencing factors such as, the global petroleum price and the level of monetary RESERVE remaining in the Oil Fund.
How did Thailand completely phased out leaded benzene oil?: Regulation of petroleum price by using subsidizing money from the Oil Fund has also led to the complete eradication of leaded gasoline in 1996. By subsidizing the price of unleaded gasoline, retail price of leaded gasoline was more expensive and motorists were discouraged from using it. At the same time, heavy public campaign was carried out to inform the public about the benefits of switching to unleaded gasoline.
Is there any physical proof?: Although there are no concrete evidential statistics to prove that the abolishment of leaded gasoline has decreased the level of municipal air pollution, it could be visually observed that the majority of vehicles running in the city of Bangkok no longer emit black smog from their exhaust pipes.
Oil company PTT Plc supports the Pheu Thai Party's policy to shut down the state Oil Fund and says this would mean petrol and diesel would be cheaper, but gas prices would rise right away.
PTT chief executive Prasert Bunsumpun said his company was still waiting for details of the policy.
Without the Oil Fund levy the prices of petrol and diesel would drop, but liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other natural gas would rise right away.
He wonders where the government would recoup the lost revenue.
PTT is also waiting for the new energy minister to be named.
It wants to discuss the structure of energy prices with the new minister, especially the price of natural gas that causes PTT a loss of 4-5 baht per kilogram.
In the second half of this year, Mr Prasert expected the Dubai crude price to sit around US$100 per barrel and the refined oil price at US$120 per barrel.
PTT executive vice president Saran Rangkhasiri suggested the termination of the state Oil Fund should be done gradually.
Shayne Heffernan Shayne Heffernan oversees the management of funds for institutions and high net worth individuals. Shayne Heffernan holds a Ph.D. in Economics and brings with him over 25 years of trading experience in Asia and hands on experience in Venture Capital, he has been involved in several start ups that have seen market capitalization over $500m and 1 that reach a peak market cap of $15b. He has managed and overseen start ups in Mining, Shipping, Technology and Financial Services.
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