Chris Potranan identifies masked oil hoarders and advises the Prime Minister to allow oil imports from abroad, pressure six refineries to release oil, and reduce diesel excise tax to immediately cut prices by 7 baht.
At 18:30 on 25 March 2026 GMT+7, Chris Potranan, a party-list Member of Parliament and chairman of the Economic Party, spoke in the House of Representatives, stating that he is tracking down the masked individuals causing high oil prices in Thailand. He said if oil imports from abroad were allowed to be sold in Thailand today, these hoarders would be forced to release their stock. He revealed that the easiest way to find these hoarders is among the six oil refineries in Thailand; to find the oil, follow it from these six refineries.
Chris continued, if Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul calls the six refineries for talks and they fail to reach an agreement, he should open licenses to import oil from abroad so these six refineries must compete with the global market, which would immediately reduce oil prices by 7 baht. He also suggested exempting oil excise tax collection, even though this would cost the government 240 billion baht in revenue. This measure was previously implemented in 2022 under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government, which exempted diesel excise tax by 3 baht per liter when oil prices were 100 US dollars per barrel, higher than current prices, so it is still feasible.
Therefore, if today the government can open licenses to import oil from abroad, reduce excise tax on oil, and cancel VAT on all types of oil, resulting in a total revenue loss of 300 billion baht, the public would regain access to sufficient oil. The state must make this sacrifice. If these three measures succeed, oil availability will return to adequate levels. .