Siripong, Deputy Minister of Transport, revealed that the Cabinet held a special meeting approving negotiations with oil refineries to reclaim excess profits, aiming to find a compensation model to help the public.
6 Apr 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Siripong Angkasakulkit, Deputy Minister of Transport, said at the Government House following the special Cabinet meeting that the Cabinet discussed and acknowledged reports confirming that refineries have indeed earned excess profit margins. The Cabinet approved proceeding with negotiations with refineries to recover these excess profits for use in assisting the public. The Prime Minister assigned a new committee, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy serving as secretary, to oversee and concretely determine how to proceed.
Regarding the key principle, the calculation of excess profits must reflect the actual cost of old oil stock; it cannot rely on day-to-day price volatility estimates but will use a monthly average to determine the extent of excess profit earned by refineries. However, this approach cannot involve coercive measures against refineries but must rely primarily on negotiation and dialogue.
Siripong further explained the forms and methods of profit return: Currently, there are no clear guidelines on how this will be done, but the committee has the authority to determine various compensation formats, such as requesting refineries to return the excess profits in cash or as oil stock. Additionally, discussions included long-term solutions that may involve using powers under the 1973 Fuel Shortage Prevention and Remedy Act as a tool to define compensation methods or provide alternative forms of compensation in cases where refineries face losses.