Vietnam Crude Oil Export Continues Falling in Volume, Value
Vietnam’s crude oil export volume is estimated at 11.21 million tons valued at US$5.78 billion in the first nine months of this year, down 10.4 per cent and 11.3 per cent on-year, respectively, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said.
In September, the Southeast Asian nation shipped 1.14 million tons, down 5.26 per cent on-month and 26.31 per cent on-year, said it.
Vietnam earned US$640 million from outbound shipments in the month, down 6.25 per cent on-month, and 15.62 per cent on-year, it said.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that state-owned oil monopoly PetroVietnam produced 11.37 million tons of crude oil in the January-September period, accounting for 89.2 per cent of the volume of the same period last year.
The decrease is attributed to the fall in volume of some main oil fields in September, Bach Ho and Rong down 3.8 per cent, Ruby 6.7 per cent, and Su Tu Den 4.5 per cent.
A source from the group said the oil output is not as high as expected this year, adding that the group has to cut the target by roughly one million tons of crude to 16.8 million tons.
Currently, without major refining facilities, almost all crude oil is destined for export, while all refined oil products to feed national fuel needs are imported.
Vietnam is predicted to spend US$5.11 billion importing 9.2 million tons of petroleum products in the nine months, up 8 per cent in value and 9.4 per cent in volume. (GSO Sep 2007)
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