“Anutin” Confirms No Fuel Shortage After Public Rush to Fill Up Tanks, Reaching Over 10 Million Liters

Today (18 March) 3:20 PM at the Parliament, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul gave an interview after chairing the meeting of the Center for Monitoring and Managing the Conflict in the Middle East (CMA). He confirmed that there is no shortage of oil; crude oil imports remain normal. Production capacity has not decreased, and refined oil output remains normal. However, due to public anxiety, oil consumption has increased by approximately 10 million liters. We must find ways to compensate for this increase and manage the situation to prevent excessive public anxiety, restoring normal oil transportation to gas stations as quickly as possible. We are currently addressing each issue one by one.

When asked if anyone had been identified as a beneficiary of the oil price increase, Mr. Anutin replied, "What are these 'beneficiaries' doing?" He added, "There is no such thing as 'beneficiaries,' only that public anxiety has led to people stockpiling oil. Consumption has increased from 67 million liters per day to 84 million liters per day, even though imports and production remain the same. We must now manage the situation to reassure the public that there is no shortage and that there is no need to hoard."

When pressed further on whether the masked suspect had not yet been found, Mr. Anutin said, "There's none, so how could we find him? The public are concerned about themselves, and they have the right to be. I have to tell the Ministry of Energy to alleviate their concerns. We still have plenty of oil; we are not running out of oil."