PetroVietnam Seeking 26.5-Mln Tons Crude Oil Supplies for Refineries

The state-owned oil monopoly PetroVietnam group is seeking supplies of 26.5 million tons of crude oil annually for three proposed oil refineries in Vietnam in a bid to meet growing domestic demand for fuel, the Thanh Nien Daily newspaper reported, citing CEO Tran Ngoc Canh as saying.

 

The group is willing to offer its stake in the refineries to exchange for long-term crude oil provision, Mr Canh said, adding that it could transfer up to 30 per cent in each refinery under Vietnam’s law and even higher stake in special case.

 

PetroVietnam planned to build three refining and petrochemical complexes to feed the country's growing demand for oil-refined products of between 14 per cent and 15 per cent annually, Canh attributed.

 

BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, some Middle Eastern companies, and Venezuela are among partners to supply crude oil to Vietnam.

 

Vietnam, the third largest crude oil producer in Asia, spent US$10.25 billion on importing 11.05 million metric tons of petroleum products in the first ten months this year, up 71.1 per cent on year and 5.3 per cent, respectively.

 

The underway US$2.5 billion Dung Quat oil refinery, with expected products of propylene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), lead-free petrol, diesel and fuel oil, will meet 33 per cent of the country’s entire demand for petrol and oil. (Thanh Nien Daily, GSO Oct 2008)