Vietnam plans to import one million tons of crude oil this year, and is expected to expand the volume in the increasing in the coming time, said Dinh La Thang, CEO of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).
The move is aimed at supplying material input for the country’s oil refineries, including the first Dung Quat in central Quang Ngai province that is under construction, and the planned Thanh Hoa province-based Nghi Son oil refinery and Long Son petrochemical complex in Ba Ria Vung Tau province, Thang said.
However, the plan is likely to be infeasible due to many reasons, including domestic money security and remittance, and the forecast long-term crude oil shortage in the world, he said.
Local crude oil output will remain at between 18 million and 20 million metric tons per year by 2010, and new oil refineries will have to use import materials, which will push up the country’s crude oil imports in the near future.
In the first nine months, PetroVietnam produced 16.9 million tons of equivalent oil from 11.9 million tons of crude oil and five billion cubic meters of natural gas, raising its oil reserve to 33 million tons.
During the time, the group signed six contracts on exploring for oil and gas abroad, raising the total number of the group’s abroad projects to 13. It is also seeking new investment opportunities in Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Tunisia, Indonesia, Angola, Iran, Russia and Belarus.
Vietnam now has no oil refinery. The first Dung Quat valued at US$2.5 billion is under construction and due for operation in February 2009, and is expected to process 6.5 million tons of crude oil a year and refining 33 per cent of the country’s entire demand for petrol and oil. (VietNamNet)
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