Songkhla Public Relations OfficeThe government has decided to lower the proportion of oil reserves to 1% in a bid to ease fuel shortages while expressing confidence that the fuel situation will stabilise within a week. The Fuel Control Act lets the government order oil retailers to set aside certain amounts of oil as reserves. Mr Phiphat said the meeting was to discuss with refineries and major traders about public panic after many petrol stations ran out of fuel. "The major traders have acknowledged it, and they will try to comply with it. But the country's refining capacity stands at about 175 million litres per day, with diesel production at around 77 million litres, which is unable to meet the demand of 82-84 million litres.

Source: Bangkok Post March 23, 2026 22:10 UTC