Biofuel use to grow in Thailand

Biofuels will constitute a larger part of Thailand’s energy mix by 2022 as the country seeks to protect itself from a possible third energy crisis, a PTT PCL executive said. “We escaped the first two energy crises by introducing gas and coal,” Songkiert Tansamrit, executive vice president at PTT Research and Technology Institute, said at the APEC Energy Workshop. Thai oil and gas major PTT currently supplies 3.5 million liters a day of ethanol, out of the total demand of 11.7 million liters, he said. Gasoline sold in Thailand will have to be blended with 10% ethanol, while diesel fuel will have to be blended with 5% biodiesel from 2011. (November 12, 2009)