Is it possible the situation with Iran might actually shake up the comfortable arrangement Thai oil companies have with the corrupt rulers of the country? (just my opinion)

The PM found himself under the gun in a Parliamentary debate when Abhisit, the leader of the Democratic Party, accused the government of blaming Thai citizens of hording fuel, rather than investigating the real culprits, big oil companies.

As a result, The Department of Special Investigation (DSI), will now, finally, investigate the activities of Thai oil companies.

Thai people know what is really happening and this will be a test of the new government, claiming to serve all Thai citizens.

The PM is in a bind. He walks hand in hand with influential, corrupt “industry leaders”. He’s one of them! In my humble opinion.

As they should.

Limiting diesel fuel deliveries and at the pump purchases citing the oil crisis but the moment the per liter price reached mid to high Bt.40's there was no longer any supply issues.

As for the fuel fund subsidiy being removing (driving the prices up).... yeah I bet we never see Bt.30.00/lt of diesel again!

6 hours ago, Des1 said:

He walks hand in hand with influential, corrupt “industry leaders”. He’s one of them! In my humble opinion.

It would be - if your claim is correct(!) - no difference to the leader of the USA.

The whole mess started ONLY because of the corrupt occupier of the white house. So blame him. And not the others.

Worldwide all oil companies are rubbing their hands over the profits they can make now.

It's easy to blame the oil companies. Doing so allows other responsible parties to escape responsibility. Big, bad oil companies. Yes, they are profiting and yes they have had a poor track record, but of all the implicated parties they are the least to blame. As a reminder;

-Much of the world's oil production, particularly from the Middle east is government dominated. Either through control, or joint ownership of the production asset.

- The oil companies do not usually control the distribution. There are "wholesalers" and "distributors", and they have all been enjoying the benefit of higher prices.

-There has been speculation and manipulation. This has come from third parties, not the oil companies.

-Governments set the applicable taxes and the tariffs. They set the regulatory environment for the speculators.

-Consumers have a role to play. Do urban dwellers really need the PUs and SUVs to drive between the shopping mall and home? There is still a lot of fuel waste, like drivers who leave their engines running. On any given day, tens of thousands of drivers do that. And then there are the vehicle owners who do not maintain their vehicles to ensure efficient operation.

7 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

-Consumers have a role to play. Do urban dwellers really need the PUs and SUVs to drive between the shopping mall and home? There is still a lot of fuel waste, like drivers who leave their engines running. On any given day, tens of thousands of drivers do that. And then there are the vehicle owners who do not maintain their vehicles to ensure efficient operation.

You had a good comment going until this bullet point. The answer is yes regarding PUs and SUVs to go to the mall. If that's what they want and can afford it, they should do that. It's more comfortable, looks good, and is safer.

There's no obligation on anyone to not waste fuel. It's an OCD approach to life and makes everyone miserable. The market will sort all of that out.

17 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

As they should.

Limiting diesel fuel deliveries and at the pump purchases citing the oil crisis but the moment the per liter price reached mid to high Bt.40's there was no longer any supply issues.

As for the fuel fund subsidiy being removing (driving the prices up).... yeah I bet we never see Bt.30.00/lt of diesel again!

On 25 March, the height of the fuel shortage, I drove 800kms across Thailand, to pass the time my passengers counted fuel delivery trucks along the way.

The total counted in 800kms/11hrs came to 392.

That’s not evidence oil companies were not trying to maintain supplies.

12 hours ago, Schoggibueb said:

It would be - if your claim is correct(!) - no difference to the leader of the USA.

The whole mess started ONLY because of the corrupt occupier of the white house. So blame him. And not the others.

Worldwide all oil companies are rubbing their hands over the profits they can make now.

Only ??

That other little country started it.

15 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

It's easy to blame the oil companies. Doing so allows other responsible parties to escape responsibility. Big, bad oil companies. Yes, they are profiting and yes they have had a poor track record, but of all the implicated parties they are the least to blame. As a reminder;

-Much of the world's oil production, particularly from the Middle east is government dominated. Either through control, or joint ownership of the production asset.

- The oil companies do not usually control the distribution. There are "wholesalers" and "distributors", and they have all been enjoying the benefit of higher prices.

-There has been speculation and manipulation. This has come from third parties, not the oil companies.

-Governments set the applicable taxes and the tariffs. They set the regulatory environment for the speculators.

-Consumers have a role to play. Do urban dwellers really need the PUs and SUVs to drive between the shopping mall and home? There is still a lot of fuel waste, like drivers who leave their engines running. On any given day, tens of thousands of drivers do that. And then there are the vehicle owners who do not maintain their vehicles to ensure efficient operation.

I agree that there seems to be little if any evidence that oil companies are implicated in the shortage. It seems pretty obvious that factors outside the control of a relatively small player like the Thailand's are responsible for the situation. It is notable that the government is locking in long term contracts with LNG suppliers. Among other things, these contracts oblige Thailand to pay for gas even if it's not used. So that tends to lock out other suppliers to some extent.

Quite interesting how the price of oil has come down significantly and yet the price of gas remains nearly the same. I know many will make excuses for the oil companies here and talk about many other factors, but the actual cost of crude oil is significantly lower at the moment than it was last month.

And that represents very significant profiteering on the part of certain parties.

15 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Quite interesting how the price of oil has come down significantly and yet the price of gas remains nearly the same. I know many will make excuses for the oil companies here and talk about many other factors, but the actual cost of crude oil is significantly lower at the moment than it was last month.

And that represents very significant profiteering on the part of certain parties.

Not so interesting really. The price of oil that you refer to is the futures price. It's a bet on the future. Often referred to as paper oil. But as for real oil, or as it known in the business as physical oil, it's still commanding big premiums.