The State Oil Fuel Fund, once riddled with huge debts after heavily subsidising oil and gas prices, has seen a shift from red to black ink in its oil account, thanks to decreasing global oil prices, said a source at the Energy Ministry.
The fund, which is used as a buffer against energy price fluctuations, comprises two parts -- oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) accounts.
Authorities spend money from the fund to subsidise domestic oil and LPG prices in an effort to prevent them from rising in order to ease the possibility of an increased financial burden on businesses and households.
The oil account went into the black for the first time in more than three years since it started posting losses at the end of 2021.
"That's because authorities can collect more contributions from motorists to support the fund while global crude oil prices are going down," said an energy official who requested anonymity.
The contributions are among the tools the government uses to regulate the retail prices of diesel, gasoline and gasohol. Authorities collect fewer contributions from fuel users when global oil prices increase.
"The oil account has escaped a loss as authorities have not spent money to subsidise diesel prices since the middle of last year and, at the same time, have collected contributions from users of all types of oil," the official said.
The oil account ran a loss of 372 million baht on May 11 before it recorded a positive reading of 773 million baht. On May 25, this had risen to 2.6 billion baht, according to the Oil Fuel Fund Office (Offo).
However, the LPG account remains in the red, with a loss of 44.8 billion baht as of May 25.
The government is maintaining its policy of placing a cap on domestic LPG prices at 423 baht per 15-kilogramme cylinder until the end this month.
With the losses recorded in the LPG account, the Oil Fuel Fund is still plagued with a financial burden totalling 42.2 billion baht, a significant reduction from losses of 150 billion baht in mid-2022, following the impact of Russia's full invasion of Ukraine, said the Offo.
The financial status of the fund is improving, with continual contributions made by oil users and gas separation plant operators, said the official.
Global crude oil prices fell from an average of US$70 per barrel at the beginning of this year to $63.67 per barrel on average as of May 30, according to the Dubai crude oil reference price.