Inside PTT’s fuel crisis playbook: boost refinery output, prioritise pumps and cap jobber prices

Thailand’s refined-oil business still relies on a complex supply chain linking multiple sectors—from upstream refineries to downstream consumers. Different categories of licensed traders play distinct roles, while pricing mechanisms and sales-channel management—particularly among jobbers (independent traders and middlemen)—often become key indicators of competition and market stability, especially during an energy shock.

The supply chain: from refineries to consumers

The refined-fuel supply chain starts with refineries, which produce base fuel before blending. Refineries sell this base product to oil traders at the ex-refinery price.

1. Refinery → Oil trader: Refineries sell unblended base fuel to oil traders at the ex-refinery price.
2. Oil trader → Service station: Oil traders sell blended fuel, meeting required standards, to service stations at wholesale prices. This typically includes the marketing margin and the Oil Fuel Fund mechanism.
3. Oil trader → Jobber: Sales to jobbers generally reference daily posted market prices, without a fixed pricing formula. Jobbers are typically split into regular customers and spot buyers. Under normal conditions, jobber prices are often below pump prices—but when market prices spike, jobber prices can rise above pump prices.
4. Service station → Public: Service stations sell fuel to the public at the posted pump price.
5. Jobber → End customers: Jobbers sell fuel to their own customers at market-linked prices agreed between parties.

Throughout the chain, taxes are embedded at multiple stages—such as excise duty, local maintenance tax, and VAT—all of which form a significant part of the retail price from refineries to traders and on to service stations.

PTT’s crisis management approach

During the crisis, PTT Plc has accelerated production at group refineries above normal levels—at times running at more than 100% of refining capacity—to ensure sufficient fuel supply for public demand.

For distribution management, PTT has set out key priorities:

1. Pump-first allocation: PTT prioritises sales through service stations, allocating fuel first to stations under PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc (OR) to ensure nationwide access for consumers.
2. Jobber allocation by priority: Fuel remaining after service-station supply is allocated first to jobbers who are regular customers, then to other customers in order of priority.
3. Jobber price cap during the crisis: PTT says it has set a ceiling price for regular jobber customers so that the selling price does not exceed the pump price + 2 baht per litre, through to the end of March 2026. The cap is intended as an upper limit to prevent jobber-market prices from rising excessively during volatility.

PTT notes that when market prices rise rapidly, the cap means the group absorbs part of the price volatility risk itself. The additional 2 baht per litre is designed to cover crisis-related costs and risks, such as:

• oil price volatility
• financing costs linked to Oil Fuel Fund compensation lags
• storage and transport expenses

Overall, Thailand’s refined-fuel supply chain is not simply a distribution system, but a balancing mechanism—aimed at keeping energy accessible for the public, supporting operator viability, and maintaining wider economic stability.