Fuelling growth: Thailand’s energy use rises as tourism powers up
The Department of Energy Business revealed fuel consumption in Thailand saw a 2.1% rise last year, reaching a daily average of 155.4 million litres, in tandem with an estimated GDP growth of 2.6-2.7%, largely fuelled by bustling tourism-related industries.
In 2023, total fuel consumption was slightly less, at 152.3 million litres per day. Jet fuel, driven by the surge in tourism, experienced a dramatic 18.3% year-on-year increase, reaching 16.2 million litres per day.
This spike is attributed to the increase in both domestic and international travellers, as pointed out by Sarawut Kaewtathip, the department’s director-general.
Thailand played host to over 35 million international tourists last year, with domestic travel among locals also rising by 6.8% year-on-year, thanks in part to tourism promotion campaigns. The bustling air cargo services further boosted the demand for jet fuel.
Diesel consumption also grew, up by 2.2% year-on-year to 66.7 million litres per day. This was bolstered by thriving tourism, government stimulus policies, and a retail diesel price cap keeping costs below 33 baht per litre.
Meanwhile, demand for petrol and gasohol, a blend of petrol and ethanol, held steady at 31.65 million litres per day, marking a minuscule dip of 0.01% from 31.67 million litres in 2023, reported Bangkok Post.
Sarawut highlighted that petrol and gasohol consumption is expected to dip further as electric vehicles, including battery EVs, hybrid EVs, and plug-in hybrid EVs, gain traction, alongside the expansion of the public transport system.
Registrations of passenger cars with up to seven seats rose modestly by 5.3% year-on-year in 2024, while public transport usage jumped by 11%.
The consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased by 3.7% year-on-year to 18.3 million kilogrammes per day, with the petrochemical sector leading the charge at 8.13 million kilogrammes per day, followed by households at 5.8 million kilogrammes, transport, particularly taxis, at 2.33 million kilogrammes, and other industries at 2 million kilogrammes per day.
Conversely, compressed natural gas (CNG) consumption plummeted by 16.5% to 2.7 million kilogrammes per day, as the number of registered CNG-powered vehicles and filling stations continued to decline.
Last year also saw a 0.9% decrease in imports of crude oil, LPG, and refined oil to 1.024 million barrels per day, valued at 92 billion baht per month. In contrast, exports of refined oil rose by 1.5% year-on-year to 186,035 barrels per day, fetching 17.8 billion baht per month.
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