Gasohol Blues

[Hog Head]

My little rant:

The Bangkok Post reports June 16/06 that "the government may need to delay the replacement of premium gasoline with gasohol" due to uncertainties in the ethanol supply required to meet the Jan 1/07 deadline. One can only hope that this delay is a face saving measure in light of the decision to withdraw a product that millions of Thai vehicles require. Like so many other government decisions, I trust that this delay becomes permanent and results in a sanity review so that we can continue to operate our vehicles.

June 24/06 the Post reports that the state run oil firm Bangchak Petroleum Plc. is introducing gasohol-91. Is there something more sinister going on and is this the precursor of a hidden agenda to remove petrol from the market altogether?

While I would like to think that the Thai Consumer is educated enough to know the pitfalls of using gasohol, I suspect that price is the deciding factor. Why is the Consumer not being told the entire story so that he can make an informed decision to use gasohol, or given the choice and pay more for petrol.

The government would like us to believe that the logic for E-10 gasohol is that oil imports will be reduced, however this is not the case. Ethanol is an oxygenator, and a substitute for imported MTBE currently used in petrol. Oil imports will not be decreased one iota by switching to gasohol, and it is MTBE imports that will be reduced.

The perception that the Consumer and the Nation will save money by using gasohol is circumspect. Gasohol is less energy efficient than petrol, and depending on the engine, requires up to 5% more gasohol to perform the equivalent work as an equal volume of petrol. Given that gasohol is only marginally cheaper than petrol, one needs to use more gasohol, the current cost of base stock ethanol is 25.30 baht per liter, and ethanol is subsidised at 2.5 B/L where is the savings?

The Research Department of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand did not test gasohol compatibility in all vehicles in use on Thai roads. The truth of the matter is that some new cars, a large number of older cars, and virtually every motorbike cannot safely operate on gasohol.

Are there no Consumer rights in Thailand? Why am I being forced to use a fuel that is both incompatible and unsafe in my vehicle. Surely the oil companies know that gasohol is not compatible and safe for all vehicles? Have they no liability in knowingly filling your tank with an unsafe product, or are they just following orders and the Government is liable?

One can only wonder at the uninformed and flawed logic behind this forced withdrawal of petrol. A more skeptical individual might wonder who owns the ethanol companies, and stands the most to benefit from this government policy?

Ohhhhhhhh that feels better

[sbkpeterpan]

One can only wonder at the uninformed and flawed logic behind this forced withdrawal of petrol. A more skeptical individual might wonder who owns the ethanol companies, and stands the most to benefit from this government policy?

Ohhhhhhhh that feels better

The last paragraph sums it up. There must be a profit being made somewhere by vested interests, because I can't work out what the rationale is otherwise. My car is 2002 Volvo, whenever I am forced to fill with a Part Ethanol mix, it runs like a dog, will not idle smoothly and you can feel a loss of power, I mean much more than can be just attributable from the reduced energy available from the Ethanol component. I imagine it’s not just my car; others must have the same symptoms.

[Lorin]

One can only wonder at the uninformed and flawed logic behind this forced withdrawal of petrol. A more skeptical individual might wonder who owns the ethanol companies, and stands the most to benefit from this government policy?

Ohhhhhhhh that feels better

The last paragraph sums it up. There must be a profit being made somewhere by vested interests, because I can't work out what the rationale is otherwise. My car is 2002 Volvo, whenever I am forced to fill with a Part Ethanol mix, it runs like a dog, will not idle smoothly and you can feel a loss of power, I mean much more than can be just attributable from the reduced energy available from the Ethanol component. I imagine it’s not just my car; others must have the same symptoms.

Where around lower Sukhumvit I can get real petrol? The pump on the corner of soi 23 is gazohol only.

[Hog Head]

I suspect that petrol availibility is going to be a problem in the near future, and I can only hope that someone with an understanding of the technical issues and political clout will bring pressure to bear on the government.

The average Thai consumer's purchasing decision is cost based, and he/she has little to no knowledge on the technical issues. Put simply gasohol is not compatable with a vast majority of vehicles on Thai roads, and in fact is unsafe in many.

Maybe someone who just bought a 25 million B Ferrari and cannot buy fuel anymore will have more influence than I

robert