Oil transport firms are offering to develop pipelines from the central region to the North and Northeast at a combined cost of 20 billion baht.
Witoon Kulcharoenwirat, director-general of the Energy Business Department, said one would be a 703-kilometre pipeline running along the Asian Highway from Ayutthaya's Bang Pa-in district to the northern town of Lamphun.
This oil pipeline was proposed to the department by Fuel Pipeline Transportation Co, a subsidiary of Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services Plc.
Another oil pipeline to the Northeast was proposed by SC Carrier Co, one of Thailand's top five oil and gas transport providers, for a 336-kilometre line from an oil depot in Saraburi along the northeastern route of the Mittraphap Highway through Nakhon Ratchasima to Khon Kaen.
The department will consider the plans this year before forwarding them to the Energy Ministry for approval.
The two projects were initiated more than 10 years ago as the government sought ways to transport oil to remote areas via pipelines, which is cheaper than the current system that uses costly oil trucks.
However, the plans were delayed when the government prioritised strengthening national oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc as well as Thai Petroleum Pipeline Co (Thapline). The pipeline projects were shelved for years, as PTT and Thapline were reluctant to invest because the projects had a rate of return below 10%.
On Aug 13, the National Energy Policy Council approved a policy to free up the oil pipeline projects by allowing private firms to submit licence applications via the Energy Business Department.
"We will support them by offering some investment privileges on land ownership or attractive land leasing rates," said Mr Witoon.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat said the domestic retail price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was expected to drop further over the next month, in line with weaker global oil prices.
That has resulted in weaker benchmark LPG prices being set by Saudi Aramco's CP, down to US$334 a tonne this month from $339 last month.
A new monthly domestic LPG retail price is set to be considered by the National Energy Administration Committee next week.
Gen Anantaporn said the committee would consider a plan to phase out sales of gasohol 91 or gasohol 95 gradually in order to help cut oil retailers' operational costs by providing only a single grade of gasohol rather than the current option of two varieties.