PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR) forecasts 2-3% growth in retail fuel sales volume in 2020, in line with government projections.
The Energy Business Department estimates the country's 2020 fuel consumption to increase by 2%, driven by petrol, diesel and jet fuel, while consumption of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas for vehicles is expected to decline this year.
Boonma Phonthanakornkul, PTTOR's senior executive vice-president, said the company recently reported to the department on the overall fuel retail market in 2020 and expects growth to align with the GDP outlook.
In 2019, PTTOR's retail sales volume for diesel totalled 6 billion litres, while petrol volume was 4.7 billion litres.
"The 2020 projection has yet to change, although the country's economy is suffering from the coronavirus outbreak," Mr Boonma said. "Fuel sales volume should not be affected by this epidemic, because the outbreak is short-term and the situation will recover soon."
He noted that this is the high season for Thailand's tourism sector, running until the end of Songkran in mid-April.
For its coronavirus response, PTTOR temporarily closed Cafe Amazon branches in China to protect local staff from infection.
Cafe Amazon branches in China began operations last September in Nanning, Guangxi under a franchise contract with Sinopec Sales Guangxi Branch. China is the 10th country to host the Cafe Amazon brand.
PTTOR plans to expand with more branches of Cafe Amazon in China soon, Mr Boonma said.
For its biofuel policy, PTTOR plans to have biodiesel B10 available at 1,850 stations nationwide by March 1, up from 550 now. Some locations sell biodiesel B7 as the alternative diesel.
"In the initial stages of B10 sales last May, PTTOR had sales volume of 300 litres per day, lower than estimated," Mr Boonma said. "After the government enforced and promoted B10 as the fundamental diesel from January onward, the company's sales volume jumped to 1,500 litres per day at each station."
Sales volume of B10 totalled 1 million litres per day, still lower than PTTOR's estimate. The Energy Ministry subsidises B10 by two baht per litre and B20 by three baht per litre, both cheaper than B7.
