Follow SAF Usage Trends, Thai Authorities Craft National Oil Proposal to Boost Sustainable Aviation Fuel

To support the aviation industry in reducing CO2 emissions, Thailand’s energy authorities are developing a novel national oil proposal. The blueprint caters to the global rollout of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a biofuel variant for aircraft.

Patteera Saipratumtip, Deputy Minister of Energy Business of Thailand, revealed that the authorities are studying how to make SAF a mainstream fuel and support the domestic production of this biofuel in Thailand.

Patiala said investment incentive proposals for SAF production are expected to be finalized in early 2024. The aviation industry currently faces cost challenges with SAF, which is two to three times more expensive than conventional aviation fuel. Therefore, the authorities are also considering reducing the excise tax on aviation fuel (20% of retail price) to encourage the use of SAF. The tax reduction idea was first proposed by Nathasit Diskul, president of Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services.

Governments and international agencies around the world recognize the use of SAF. For example, the United States provides tax incentives to SAF manufacturers; the European Union has issued a directive stipulating that SAF must have a minimum quota in the total aviation fuel supply, with the goal of a minimum quota of 2% in 2025, 5% in 2030, and 5% in 2050.

According to the Bangkok Post, Japan has set a goal for international flights stopping at its airports to achieve a SAF mixing rate of 10% by 2030.

In line with this global trend, Thai companies Bangchak Corporation and Energy Absolute have announced plans to produce SAF from waste cooking oil. In addition, in 2023, Thailand's national oil and gas group PTT Public Company Limited announced that its subsidiary PTT Oil and Retail would cooperate with Thai Airways International (THAI) to test the use of SAF on flights from Bangkok to Phuket. The company gave no further details, saying only that the plan involves working with a number of companies, including Neste, Finland's leading SAF producer. Thai Airways used SAF as a pilot and the results showed that the fuel met the set goals of reducing its carbon footprint.