Driver in Thailand camps out in fuel station to be first to buy petrol amid panic over shortages

THAILAND: Lengthy queues at petrol stations have been reported throughout Thailand recently, with signs at diesel pumps saying “out of fuel” causing panic since diesel is essential to Thailand’s transport sector.

One driver appears to believe in the adage that desperate times call for desperate measures. The driver of a white sedan was seen pitching a tent outside their vehicle and camping out overnight while the fuel station was closed. It is believed that they did so in the hope of being first to procure fuel the next day.

The photo of the driver was posted on Facebook on March 17. It was then re-shared hundreds of times.

Fuel shortage panic

The panic over the supply of fuel in Thailand is more than a week old. A video posted by Reuters on March 15 showed a pump with a sign reading “Sorry, gasohol 95 is out,” along with long queues of cars and trucks that had lined up to fill their tanks.

An employee at the station told Reuters that she had never seen this happen before, and that sales are much higher than usual.

It reached a point, she added, where the station manager limited lorries to 5,000 Baht (S$195) worth of fuel and 50 litres in jerry cans.

While there has been no small degree of panic among those seeking to fill up on fuel, Thai Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul said on March 19 that the country does not currently have an oil shortage, as its crude oil imports are normal and its oil production capacity and output are what they were before the conflict in the Middle East began.

Appealing to the public to desist from stockpiling fuel, Mr Charnvirakul said that panic buying is causing the current situation, as daily oil consumption has risen from 60 to 67 million litres to about 84 million litres.

On Sunday (March 23), however, the Bangkok Post reported that public uneasiness has remained, and pumps are running dry.

The supply of oil worldwide remains volatile due to the war in the Middle East, which began three weeks ago when the United States and Israel started bombing Iran, with Asia particularly hard hit by the disruption to oil supply. /TISG

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