Automotive

Thailand begins coloring petrol and diesel

Thailand begins coloring petrol and diesel
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One of the major problems with motorized transport across Asia is that mass fraud takes place with petrol retailing. Octane-91 petrol is sold as Octane-95, Diesel B5 is sold as diesel B2 and to a much greater extent, cocktails are brewed and sold to increase profits for the retailer, with alcohol mixes very common. The mixing not only cheats the motorist but often has dire consequences for the motors using the fuel, causing massive destruction that’s difficult to trace. The Thai Government is the first to take action to overcome the problem by introducing colored petrols. From February 1, octane-91 petrol will become yellow, octane-95 petrol will be blue, and diesel B5 will be red.

6 comments
6 comments
David Choy
I\'m not sure how this will fix things. Surely adding red alcohol to diesel will still look the same as red diesel?
Gruph Norgle
So this is why petrol is coloured. It\'s pink here in Australia :)
windykites
Is there a slight possibility that fraudsters may now colour their own concoctions to match the legitimate products?
Brian R
Interesting idea, but I agree with windykites1 about the fraudsters adding their own coloring. I am going to have to assume that the coloring will be added at the highest level, possibly before the fuel even enters the country. Then the bad guys would have to find an illegal non-Thai source of the raw, uncolored fuel, which would likely be too expensive to bother running the scam anymore.
My other question involves the pumps themselves. I\'ve been to Thailand and every gas station I remember seeing had the same style pump as they do here in the US, a big metal box with an LCD screen, credit card reader, and a *black* hose. How is the average driver ever going to see the color of the fuel entering their tank? I don\'t doubt that some of the more rural areas might have pumps as pictured in this article, but what about everyone else?
Either way, I am glad to see the Thai government taking more action against fraud, like they did with putting government seals on the caps of all bottles of alcohol and bottled water so you know it has not been opened. Thailand is a wonderful country, but unfortunately fraud and corruption is not too uncommon, in both commercial entities and the government itself.
matthew.rings
Fuel is colored here in America, too, for tax purposes. Aircraft gas and boat gas are both colored, to gain the higher tax revenue, and to ensure the owner, too, that they are getting the correct fuel they paid for.
Kenneth S. Dark
Thailand already colored petrol for more than 20 years!. Original, Red (Pink) for Benzene, Yellow for Diesel. I think they just only \"change\" the color.