PTT sees its oil business seriously threatened in next decade by EVs

[webfact]

PTT sees its oil business seriously threatened in next decade by EVs

By Wichit Chaitrong  
The Nation 

 

PTT's demonstration gas station at its Oil Business Academy in Wang Noi district of Ayutthaya province.

 

PTT HAS predicted that clean energy will adversely affect the oil industry over the next decade. The country’s largest energy firm is moving fast to remodel the oil retail business, including helping the small business owners who run gas stations to survive the coming threat from electric vehicles. 

“While the government has estimated that a new wave of clean energy demand worldwide will have significant impact on the fossil fuel business in the next 1520 years, we think it would come sooner, maybe in the next 10 years,” said Suchat Ramarch, PTT Public Co Ltd’s executive vice president for retail marketing of oil.

 

“So we have to move early in order to cope with the coming change,” said Suchat. 

 

Some countries have already announced a phasing out of diesel and petrol cars. France and the United Kingdom, for example, are planning to ban them from 2040 in order to reduce greenhousegas emissions and decrease air pollution.

 

Gas station owners, the business partners of PTT, “are worried about a decline in their future income” as customer demand for oil declines, said Suchat. “We have to help them seek new sources of income,” he said.

 

PTT now has gas stations – 1,577 of them in Thailand and 186 abroad, mostly in Laos and Cambodia. PTT’s dealers own 80 per cent of the gas stations in Thailand. 

 

An average PTT gas station’s revenue comes mainly from selling oil products, but nonoil business contributes about 5060 per cent of total profit, Suchat said. 

 

In the near future, even more income will come from nonoil products and services around the gas station, including convenience stores, food courts, budget hotels and Amazon coffee shops, he said. 

 

PTT also plans to install electricity charge points for electric vehicles at gas stations but the service would not generate a lot of income as drivers could also charge their cars at home, said Suchat. Moreover, the margin for providing an electrical charge service would be thin.

 

PTT have sought business partฌners as gas stations reinvent themselves as resting points for motorists. Some station operators already provide budget hotel rooms for motorists. PTT is now selecting a hotel partner to operate budget hotels at PTT stations. 

 

PTT also recently partnered with Hua Seng Hong, a wellknown Chinese restaurant that retails its dim sum products at gasstation convenience stores.

 

The Cafe Amazon coffee brand, owned by PTT, recently gained popularity due to its perceived value for money relationship in comparison to other brands. The Amazon coffee brand has also proved popular in Cambodia, which hosts the top three Amazon branches, said Suchat. Each sells more than 1,000 cups a day.

 

Amazon has grown from a coffee brand selling in PTT gas stations. Now Cafe Amazon coffee has spread to department stores, community malls and other prime locations nationwide. People have even queued to obtain franchise rights from PTT.

 

Coffee is blue ocean business

 

“A coffee franchise in Thailand is a blue ocean business, there is much room to grow,” said Tharatip Nutteesri, senior analyst at Cafe Amazon’s business planning and development division.

 

An investment of about Bt2.5 million is required of a Cafe Amazon franchisee. PTT would help a potential owner to evaluate business viability before investing.

 

A cafe is likely to survive if it can sell about 250 cups a day, said Tharatip. 

 

PTT is negotiating with a Chinese businessman who wants rights to the Cafe Amazon coffee brand in Shanghai, said PTT executives. 

 

Amazon has just increased its coffee and tea production capacity in order to meet demand for its products and plans to expand Cafe Amazon branches from today’s 1,862 to 2,000 by the end of this year. 

 

The Amazon factory, also known as the Amazon Inspiring Campus, offers training for those who want to run a coffee shop under the Amazon brand. It is located in Wang Noi disฌtrict, Ayutthaya province near PTT’s Oil Business Academy, which provides training services for prospective gasstation owners. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/business/30329881

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-10-23

 

[Get Real]

41 minutes ago, webfact said:

nonoil business contributes about 5060 per cent of total profit, Suchat said.

I guess that clarifies that there is much more than 100% out there.

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

While the government has estimated that a new wave of clean energy demand worldwide will have significant impact on the fossil fuel business in the next 1520 years, we think it would come sooner, maybe in the next 10 years,”

also the impact effect  according to this article is anything between 1520 to 10 years 

Don't they proofread this things before they publish them?

Edited October 22, 2017 by sirineou

[Oziex1]

Electric vehicles and renewable energies are a threat to business, so they invest in coffee, ah ha!

 

 

[gandalf12]

PTT thinking they are a major player in the industry sad really

[overherebc]

What are they going to use to produce all the electricity all these electric cars use?

[coulson]

Think there are quite a few - missing from the article.

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, Oziex1 said:

Electric vehicles and renewable energies are a threat to business, so they invest in coffee, ah ha!

 

 

Yes, thats what I got from the article. Unlike every other oil company in the world, they just realised oil is a limited commodity and will be replaced by other technologies, we are going to sell coffee instead.

[Peterw42]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

PTT also plans to install electricity charge points for electric vehicles at gas stations but the service would not generate a lot of income as drivers could also charge their cars at home, said Suchat. Moreover, the margin for providing an electrical charge service would be thin.

Do they realise it takes many hours to charge a car ? I suppose people can sit and have 27 amazon coffees while they wait.

[RBOP]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

fossil fuel business in the next 1520 years

Now that's thinking ahead.

[CGW]

1 hour ago, gandalf12 said:

PTT thinking they are a major player in the industry sad really

They are a typical "state oil company" who inherited most of what they own, even so they are not a 'small" player with billions a year in income, must be about the largest tax payer in Thailand?

[gandalf12]

15 minutes ago, CGW said:

They are a typical "state oil company" who inherited most of what they own, even so they are not a 'small" player with billions a year in income, must be about the largest tax payer in Thailand?

In Thailand they are not small within the Oil & Gas industry they are.

[overherebc]

If they are going to have cities with electric cars only the first thing they should be looking at is completely changing the public transport system. Massive car parks on the outskirts of the cities then electric trains buses on a new network inside the cities.

Large recycling plants for the soon to be huge numbers of car power packs that will pile up quicker than I think they imagine.

I just see rushing into this 'all electric' will result in different kinds of polution.

[CGW]

9 minutes ago, gandalf12 said:

In Thailand they are not small within the Oil & Gas industry they are.

There not so small! there no Sinopec or Aramco but in the top 25 in the world for sure,

[lordblackader]

Given the risk to a state owned petrol enterprise, perhaps the government will move to ban electric vehicles? after all, they banned e-cigarettes because it threatened their tobacco business. 

[yellowboat]

Sorry to hear the gas station will go the way of the dinosaur.  It should have happened years ago.   People still need to eat.  Also, hybrids will be common for long hauls, so fuel will still be needed, just  not as much. 

[wow64]

Put a 300% tax on imported electric cars that will fix them.

 

Oh wait that's already in place. 

 

This story reminds me of the Journalists learning to grow crops each year to subsidize their income. 

 

Lets not retrain or give incentives for alternative energy lets just make it look like we are helping. 

[Ricardo]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

PTT also plans to install electricity charge points for electric vehicles at gas stations but the service would not generate a lot of income as drivers could also charge their cars at home, said Suchat. Moreover, the margin for providing an electrical charge service would be thin.

 

Translation  ...  drivers will have more choice about when/where to recharge, so we won't be able to rip them off so much.

[marko kok prong]

1520 years,enough time even for Thai's to plan ahead,maybe.

[TKDfella]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

If they are going to have cities with electric cars only the first thing they should be looking at is completely changing the public transport system. Massive car parks on the outskirts of the cities then electric trains buses on a new network inside the cities.

Large recycling plants for the soon to be huge numbers of car power packs that will pile up quicker than I think they imagine.

I just see rushing into this 'all electric' will result in different kinds of polution.

Yes, I certainly agree on the latter. However, that kind of pollution will gradually fall as batteries get smaller through improved technology although that could be a long way off. With the right level of investment batteries could get smaller quickly but at present there isn't the demand so investment is small (in comparison to say memory storage devices and computers).

The former point about massive car parks also have environmental issues as well as new feed and exit roads causing congestion in the countryside.

[connda]

Well, they can still supply the natural gas needed by the electricity generation plants to generate all the power needed to 'fuel' the electric vehicles.  Nobody ever discusses the pollution associated with the implementation of so-called green energy, like batteries and solar cell panels.  Sure, those are really clean from the beginning of the manufacture process to their end-of-life disposal, 'eh?  
"Shhhhhhh!"

Edited October 23, 2017 by connda

[gandalf12]

3 hours ago, CGW said:

There not so small! there no Sinopec or Aramco but in the top 25 in the world for sure,

Compare them to Shell, BP, Chevron and Exxon and they are small. 

 

Obviously you don't work in the Oil & Gas industry, I do

[gandalf12]

40 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

They are.

 

PTTEP the Exploration and Production branch of PTT owns contracts for oilfields Worldwide including in Australia and Brazil. 

Small by comparison to the major players. They are definitely not part of the 7 sisters

[CGW]

deleted, double post

Edited October 23, 2017 by CGW

[CGW]

1 hour ago, gandalf12 said:

Compare them to Shell, BP, Chevron and Exxon and they are small. 

 

Obviously you don't work in the Oil & Gas industry, I do

A statement! guess my 42 years in the O&G industry doesn't count, drilled many wells that PTT have had "part" off!

Compare PTT to Conoco Philips and PTT are Big! they are only seven places away from Chevron.

 

The "7" sisters? where have you been? there have only been three sisters for many years now! 3 of the top seven now are new kids on the block, Chinese!

[gandalf12]

1 minute ago, CGW said:

A statement! guess my 42 years in the O&G industry doesn't count, drilled many wells that PTT have had "part" off!

Compare PTT to Conoco Philips and PTT are Big! they are only seven places away from Chevron.

 

The "7" sisters? where have you been? there have only been three sisters for many years now! 3 of the top seven now are new kids on the block, Chinese!

Of course your opinion counts especially with PTT experience. You still have the major players no matter what you call them and you know it

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Well, they can still supply the natural gas needed by the electricity generation plants to generate all the power needed to 'fuel' the electric vehicles.  Nobody ever discusses the pollution associated with the implementation of so-called green energy, like batteries and solar cell panels.  Sure, those are really clean from the beginning of the manufacture process to their end-of-life disposal, 'eh?  
"Shhhhhhh!"

Lithium, the new 'gasoline' !!!!!

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, overherebc said:

What are they going to use to produce all the electricity all these electric cars use?

Don't worry it's not something Thailand will have to solve, they'll sit back & let the likes of China or Japan step in & supply all the necessary infrastructure!

[sirineou]

3 hours ago, connda said:

Well, they can still supply the natural gas needed by the electricity generation plants to generate all the power needed to 'fuel' the electric vehicles.  Nobody ever discusses the pollution associated with the implementation of so-called green energy, like batteries and solar cell panels.  Sure, those are really clean from the beginning of the manufacture process to their end-of-life disposal, 'eh?  
"Shhhhhhh!"

" Nobody ever discusses the pollution associated with the implementation of so-called green energy, like batteries and solar cell panels.  "

Not true, if you google " electric car pollution" you will see dozens of articles on the subject.

Here is one: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electric-cars-are-not-necessarily-clean/

What is said is that electric cars are less  polluting than internal combustion cars.

[digger70]

7 hours ago, overherebc said:

What are they going to use to produce all the electricity all these electric cars use?

The same crap as what you use in a car now if not worse ,Gas & coal, oil ,,,,But people seem to think that Electricity is Clean because it comes out of a Powerpoint in the wall. what is going to happen than that the price off electricity will go up and up.It's already expensive now,just wait a few more years, chaos.