Vietnam Exports 4.53 M Tons of Crude Oil by Apr 15: Ministry

Vietnam shipped abroad 4.53 million metric tons of crude oil worth US$1.6 billion from the beginning of this year by April 15, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a recent report.

 

In the first three months of this year, the Southeast Asian country’s crude oil export hit 4.19 million metric tons valued at US$1.46 billion, up 20.4 per cent on year in volume but down 43.96 per cent in value, the ministry said.

 

In March, Vietnam exported 1.32 million metric tons of crude oil worth US$518.5 million, up 10.3 per cent on year in volume but down 46 per cent in value, according to the ministry.

 

In the month, the country shipped crude oil to eight markets at the expense of the Japanese market.

 

Australia topped the list for spending US$129.3 million on importing 339,400 tons of crude oil from Vietnam, down 45.1 per cent on year in value and up 7.1 per cent in volume.

 

It was followed by Singapore, Malaysia, China, the U.S., and South Korea.

 

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently decided to slash crude oil export target by between 3.5 million tons and four million tons this year, and by between five million tons and six million tons in 2010 in order to fuel the nation’s first oil refinery Dung Quat.

 

In early this year, the state-run oil monopoly PetroVietnam group announced that Vietnam would decrease crude oil export by three million tons to 11.68 million tons this year. (Ministry of Industry and Trade)