Vietnam Keeps Cutting Crude Oil Export in February
Vietnam, the sixth largest Asian crude oil producer, exported 9.12 million barrels of crude oil worth US$597 million in February 2006, down 6.9 per cent in volume but up 32.2 per cent in value against the same period last year, according to a government source.
In January, the Southeast Asian country exported 11.39 million barrels worth US$745 million, the Government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said.
An official from the Ministry of Trade who spoke under the condition of anonymity said that Vietnam cut the crude oil export volume in order to ensure national energy and material security and reserve inputs for future refineries.
Last year, Vietnam earned US$7.4 billion from exporting over 137.8 million barrels of crude oil in 2005, up 30.3 per cent in value but down 7.3 per cent in value, said the source.
Crude oil export, the No. 1 forex earner of Vietnam, contributed 25 per cent to the Vietnamese Treasury in the 2001-2005 period.
However, with no oil refining facilities, Vietnam heavily relies on imported petroleum products. The communist-ruled nation imported 6.6 million barrels of petroleum products worth US$419 million in February and 11.98 million barrels worth US$760 million.
GSO
Vietnamese
