Reuters.com

* Vietnam’s second refinery has started importing crude

* Imports jump as country’s crude production stalls

* Kuwait, Brunei and Azerbaijan supplying Vietnam with crude

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s crude oil imports will soar to record highs in August as the country ramps up fuel refining at a time when local crude output is dwindling.

August will mark the first month on record in which Vietnam is a net importer of crude oil, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon, with the trend set to continue in coming months as the Southeast Asian nation’s refinery capacity grows.

The surge in overseas orders comes as Vietnam’s 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) Nghi Son refinery, its second such facility, prepares to produce liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, mainly for the domestic market, likely starting later this year or in early 2018.

With local oil production stalling, traders said the country of over 90 million people and 6-percent annual economic growth would gradually increase its crude imports.

“We expect to send bigger and more frequent volumes of crude to Vietnam in the future. Vietnam is one of the key new centres of oil demand growth, and we wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity,” said a senior oil trading manager. He asked not to be identified as he was not allowed to discuss trading strategies.

Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that Vietnam will import around 100,000 bpd of crude in August, on three tankers, versus exports of 70,000 bpd. September tanker imports are scheduled at similar levels.

Vietnam’s orders are still small compared with Asian’s top buyers, China and India, which import around 8 million and 4 million bpd of crude per day respectively.

“But in an environment of oversupply, this incremental new demand is very welcome for crude suppliers,” the trading manager said. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam crude oil imports to hit record as refinery gets ready to start” →