Phuket Business: Fill “er up with gasohol please

PHUKET: Due to the discontinuation of the supply of pure Benzine (91-octane) petrol nationwide, the consumption of gasohol in Phuket this year is expected to increase by at least 50%.

Rattakorn Klinchan, head of research at the Phuket Energy Office, affirmed that supplies of pure Benzine 91 were discontinued nationwide on January 1, with most Phuket stocks already drying out this month.

While Benzine 91-octane – known commonly as ‘Regular Unleaded Gasoline’ – has been phased out, Mr Rattakorn confirmed that Benzine 95-octane will still be in circulation.

“There are at least two pumps in Phuket where you can get pure Benzine 95-octane. One of them is the Susco pump in Thalang. The other, I’ve been told, is in Chalong, but I’m not sure exactly which pump.”

The Gazette has confirmed that the Chalong station selling pure Benzine 95 is the PTT on Chao Fa West Road, differentiated there by use of a yellow label.

Mr Rattakorn went on to share fuel consumption data with the Phuket Gazette, noting that Gasohol (both 91 and 95-octane) consumption was about twice as high as that of pure Benzine 91-octane in 2012.

“Last year, the average daily consumption rate of Gasohol in Phuket was about 234,000 liters, while that of pure Benzine was about 124,000 liters per day.”

Since Benzine 91-octane will be unavailable and 95-octane is available in limited quantities, Gasohol consumption in the province will likely increase by at least 50%.

“Our statistics show that a total of 45.1mn liters of Benzine 91 were sold [legally] on the island in 2012, or an average of about 3.75mn liters per month,” he said.

“Meanwhile, petrol pumps in Phuket reported [to the Revenue Department] selling about 34.59mn liters of Gasohol 91-octane, an average of about 2.8mn liters per month. As for Gasohol 95-octane, 50.6mn liters were sold, or about 4.2mn liters per day.”

Mr Rattanakorn said that from now until April 25, the Phuket Technical College will be providing free conversion tune-ups for older cars that were not designed to handle Gasohol – a blend of unleaded gasoline (pure benzine) and the organic byproduct-turned-additive ethanol.

“In conjunction with the energy department, students will do the conversions on older cars free of charge, but car owners will have to pay for any additional parts.”

Specific inquiries about gasohol tune-ups can be made by calling 076 210 179.

— Steven Layne