Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to stabilise petrol market

Fluctuations in the global market in 2022 have forced Vietnam to import petrol to meet the domestic market's demand. Statistics from the General Department of Customs show that the import volume of petroleum in December 2022 was more than 944,000 tonnes, valued at $823 million. It marked a 22.3 per cent month-on-month rise in volume and 10.9 per cent in value.

In 2022, the country imported 8.87 million tonnes of petrol worth $8.97 billion, a sharp increase of 27.7 per cent year-on-year in volume and 118.5 per cent year-on-year.

In which, imported diesel oil reached 4.74 million tonnes, increased by 1.5 per cent year-on-year and accounted for 54 per cent of imported petrol and oil of the whole country.

The imported petrol volume reached 1.7 million tonnes, increased 2.3 times compared to the previous year and accounted for 21 per cent of imported petrol and oil of the whole country. Besides that, imported jet fuel reached 1.46 million tonnes, increased 2.2 times compared to the previous year and accounted for 16 per cent of the country's petrol imports.

Vietnam imported petrol mainly from South Korea with 3.22 million tonnes, up 96.3 per cent; Singapore with 1.49 million tonnes, up 17.7 per cent, and Malaysia with 1.42 million tonnes, down 37.7 per cent.

In 2022, Vietnam spent nearly $9 billion to import 8.87 million tonnes of petrol

Assessing the domestic market, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said, "The domestic petrol market faced many difficulties in 2022. Petrol prices witnessed fluctuations with a large margin caused by the global petrol prices, especially the conflict between Russia - Ukraine, and sanctions against Russia have caused a crisis in petroleum supply on a global scale, leading at some points to shortage of petrol in some localities.”

Following the government's direction, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has deployed many solutions to ensure the domestic petroleum supply, thereby since mid-November 2022, the domestic petroleum market has stabilised, the petrol supply has been guaranteed, petrol and oil stores operate normally, promptly meeting the demand for petrol and oil.

In 2023, the MoIT will continue to direct, inspect and urge businesses to implement the assigned additional import plan strictly, ensure continuously supply for the domestic market, and resolutely prevent the shortage of supply.

Domestic refineries will increase production capacity, meanwhile, state-owned enterprises will increase import volume for at least until June 2023,

The MoIT will closely cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in reviewing, updating, and adjusting petrol and oil business costs in a timely manner, adapting to actual arising, and encouraging businesses to create a stable supply.

It will also monitor the global petrol price to make appropriate solutions, and control domestic petrol prices. Additionally, the Ministry will effectively use the Price Stabilisation Fund in accordance with the law, contributing to the achievement of the goal of controlling inflation and supporting economic recovery.

Petrol retailers demand major changes Retail petroleum businesses have asked to stop contributing to the petrol price stabilisation fund, increasing the commission to reduce losses and permanently withdrawing the licence of unprofitable retailers.

Inspections planned at petroleum distributors and refineries On October 13, the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam established a delegation to inspect the state management of 15 key petroleum and gasoline trading facilities and two oil refineries, namely Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC and Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemicals LLC.

Dung Quat Refinery exceeds design capacity to meet demand Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR) is operating Dung Quat Oil Refinery at 109 per cent of the refinery’s design capacity to offset the lack of petroleum and oil in the market.

Situation still acute in efforts to manage petrol supply The National Assembly Economic Committee last week asked the government to come up with timely responses to the petroleum supply issue, as fluctuations in the domestic market during the last month showed that problems in reserves and supply have not been completely resolved.

Amendments to Law on Petroleum can go some way to help attract funds Vietnam wants to introduce mechanisms and policies to attract more investment in oil exploration and production activities on the back of the amended Law on Petroleum, with experts, businesses, and legislators pointing out several core issues.

Funds required for Vietnam’s petroleum reserves Vietnam’s plan to raise its crude oil reserves to 2.2 million tonnes by 2025 will be an uphill task, even though the country’s production output is currently reaching 340,000 barrels per day.