BANGKOK�Thailand's petroleum consumption rose 3.2% to 906,300 boe/d in the first quarter of this year, excluding what was used by the petrochemical sector. While usage of refined products slipped 0.4% to 628,500 b/d, consumption of natural gas surged 12.2% to 277,800 boe/d, according to figures just released by the Petroleum Authority of Thailand.
Higher world oil prices contributed to the drop in consumption of refined oil products in the first quarter. But stronger gas demand for power generation and industry fueled natural gas consumption growth.
Consumption of key refined oil products declined in the first quarter. Gasoline demand was down 2% to 117,300 b/d, fuel oil was down 4% to 124,300 b/d, and diesel oil was down 0.8% to 271,400 b/d. Aviation fuel use was up 3.7% to 60,700 b/d, LPG was up 10.8% to 53,800 b/d, and kerosine rose 3.2% to 900 b/d.
Use of natural gas for power generation by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand rose 3.3% to 199,300 boe/d. Consumption by independent and small power producers jumped an impressive 51.8% to 53,600 boe/d, and industrial demand leaped 29.7% to 24,900 boe/d.
On the supply side, petroleum procurement in the first quarter averaged 1,070,600 b/d, down 0.2% from the previous period. Oil imports totaled 645,900 b/d, down 9.0%, comprising 589,700 b/d of crude oil (down 14.5%), 48,600 b/d of refined products (up 140.1%), and 7,600 boe/d of natural gas from Myanmar.
The total cost of importing crude oil, refined oil products, and natural gas soared to 57.48 billion baht in the first quarter.
