Bangchak Petroleum Plc will temporarily stop distributing biodiesel B5 next month

BANGKOK, 25 January 2011 (NNT) – Bangchak Petroleum Plc will temporarily stop distributing biodiesel B5 next month and offer only B3 in order to help lower the consumption of palm oil, which is facing a shortage.

Bangchak President Anusorn Saengnimnuan announced that the company would start selling only one grade of biodiesel, which is B3, from the end of February onwards. Amidst the palm oil shortage, which has led to soaring prices of commodities, he reasoned that the measure would help ease burdens on consumers and oil palm farmers and is expected to reduce the country’s usage of palm oil by up to 1.2 million liters per month.

Speaking of the government’s policy to have only biodiesel B5 in the market in an effort to promote renewable energy, Mr Anusorn said Bangchak would be ready to comply as its measure to sell biodiesel B3 is only for the time being. Such policy of the government is tentatively set to come into effect in April or the second quarter of 2011.

The Bangchak President believed that oil palm supplies in the market would rebound to the normal level by April, facilitating higher production of biodiesel. At present, Bangchak distributes more than 60 million liters of biodiesel B5 per month while the price of raw palm oil stands at 60 THB per liter, considerably high.