Vietnam will likely import some 0.8 million tonnes of petrol and 1.8 million tonnes of diesel every year in the 2018-22 period (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is expected to continue importing petroleum products for the next five years as production of major oil refineries is unable to meet the increasing local demand.
Annual demand for petroleum products is estimated at some 6.5 million tonnes and for diesel at some 8.5 million tonnes in the 2018-22 period, according to a report by Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd, which manages and operates the Dung Quat oil refinery.
Meanwhile, the two major oil refineries -- Dung Quat and Nghi Sơn -- produce a combined six million tonnes of petrol and some seven million tonnes of diesel per year, meeting 92 percent and 82 percent of domestic demand, respectively.
Thus, Vietnam has an average annual shortage of some 0.8 million tonnes of petrol and 1.8 million tonnes of diesel, Binh Son said, adding that this shortage would be addressed by importing petroleum products from other countries in the region, including China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Republic of Korea.
Dung Quat refinery, Vietnam’s first oil refinery, at present, has a designed capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year. It produces 2.75 million tonnes of petroleum products and 3.07 million tonnes of diesel per year, accounting for 30 percent of total domestic demand.
Nghi Son oil refinery, scheduled to become operational next year in central Thanh Hoa province, has a designed capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil per year. It will annually provide the domestic market with 2.3 million tonnes of petrol and 3.7 million tonnes of diesel.
In addition, other condensate processing plants such as PV Oil Phu My, Saigon Petro, Nam Viet Oil and Dong Phuong supply some 690,000 tonnes of petrol per year.
Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd will make its initial public offering in the fourth quarter of this year, floating up to 6 percent of capital for the public.
The company is implementing works to upgrade and expand the Dung Quat oil refinery. Once completed by the end of 2021, the factory’s capacity will increase by 30 percent to 8.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year
Vietnam imported nearly five million tonnes of petroleum products, worth over 2.6 billion USD in the first five months of this year, down 6.8 percent in volume but up 27.4 percent in value against the same period last year, the General Statistics Office reported.-VNA
VNA
