BANGKOK, THAILAND – Thailand’s energy minister announced a 2‑baht-per-liter cut to refinery prices for diesel B7 and B20 under emergency powers, aiming to ease pressure on a heavily indebted fuel fund and high pump prices.
Decision after talks with refineries
On 7 April 2026 at 3:06 p.m., Energy Minister Eknat Promphan presented the outcome of talks with refineries and a meeting of the Energy Policy Administration Committee. The committee decided to keep retail diesel prices for B7 and B20 stable while changing how costs are managed in the system.
Compensation from the oil fund was raised to 18.54 baht per liter so that the retail price stayed at 50.54 baht. The move followed a clear instruction from the prime minister at the first cabinet meeting on 6 April, after studies from the fuel fund board had been reviewed.
Oil prices, Middle East crisis and consumer burden
Eknat said part of the recent price increases could be explained by the crisis in the Middle East and was therefore broadly understandable. At the same time, he noted that high end prices were further driven by taxes and marketing margins.
The minister stated that the government had so far intervened through the Oil Fuel Fund to cushion the impact on consumers. This mechanism was used to hold down retail prices despite rising global costs.
Fuel fund deep in deficit: massive daily subsidies
According to the minister, the Oil Fuel Fund was currently around 50 billion baht in the red. Despite this, diesel continued to be subsidized every day.
The total volume of support amounted to
“billions of baht per day.”
said Eknat, the energy minister.
Unusually high refinery margins cited as key reason
The government pointed to collected and verified data from March showing that refinery margins, as part of the refinery gate price based on Singapore references, had risen “unusually” sharply in March and April. Officials argued that in the current situation, normal pricing mechanisms were no longer functioning.
In a global crisis, refineries in Thailand also needed to shoulder part of the burden, according to the government’s reasoning. The sharp increase in refinery margins was cited as the main justification for direct intervention at that level.
Emergency decree used for first time to steer refinery prices
At 1:00 p.m. on 7 April, the government invoked for the first time the Emergency Decree on Amendment and Prevention of Fuel Shortage (B.E. 2516/1973). This gave the committee the authority to set refinery prices directly.
Under the new mechanism, instead of supporting end prices via the fund, a “discount” would be applied at the refinery gate. The aim was to reduce the strain on the Oil Fuel Fund while keeping pump prices stable.
2 baht less for B7 and B20 – more cuts possible
The decision initially set a 2‑baht reduction in the refinery gate price for diesel B7 and B20. This was framed as a first step in a broader adjustment of price structures.
Eknat said refinery margins in April were even higher than in March. The figures for the first week of April would be examined in the next round of talks, with the option of widening the discount if justified by the data.
When will pump prices fall?
An immediate reduction at fuel stations was not yet guaranteed. First, the decision had to be drafted as an official announcement and published in the Royal Gazette.
This process could take until 8 April. After publication, the Fuel Fund Committee would meet again to decide how the 2‑baht refinery discount for B7 and B20 would be reflected in pump prices.
More B20 as strategy against import dependence
Eknat announced that Thailand needed to reduce its dependence on imported crude oil and foreign intermediate products, as crises had exposed significant vulnerabilities. The government therefore focused on biofuels that could be produced domestically.
To support this shift, the ministry was coordinating with fuel stations to speed up the rollout of B20 pumps, especially for trucks and the wider transport sector. The policy was presented as both an energy security measure and a way to manage fuel costs.
Expansion plan: B20 pumps along key routes by 20 April
By 20 April 2026, enough B20 pumps were to be available along major highways at intervals of about 100 kilometers. The minister mentioned a scale of around 100 service stations as an initial target.
After that, other main routes would also be equipped with B20 supply in a similar 100‑kilometer grid. B20 was to receive stronger support from the Oil Fuel Fund than B7 in order to lower transport costs and, in turn, consumer prices.
Option to raise discount later to 4–6 baht
Over the next one to two weeks, Eknat said that a review of the figures could lead to a higher refinery discount, in the range of 4 to 6 baht. This would depend on how margins and market conditions developed.
A larger discount could either be passed on more directly to consumers or be used to improve the financial position of the heavily indebted Oil Fuel Fund. The balance between consumer relief and fund stabilization was left open as a future policy choice.