October 20, 2022 [Sàigon Online] – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has recently issued Document No.6327 to Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC and Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company, requesting them to maintain stable production activities and increase the maximum capacity so that they can supply petroleum to the domestic market.
The MoIT also requires the two oil refineries to take measures to support the fast delivery of petroleum products to enterprises that have ordered goods under signed contracts, use petroleum reserves to supply for fuel wholesalers who did not sign contracts with the refineries, and at the same time, sell petroleum in areas with local shortages to promptly replenish supplies for retail gas stations.
Regarding the developments of the petroleum market, according to the MoIT, currently, domestic petroleum sources account for 70-80 percent, and imports account for 20-30 percent. However, recently, the fuel supply from abroad to Vietnam has faced many difficulties.
In the third quarter of 2022 (by September 20), the import volume decreased by about 40 percent for gasoline and 35 percent for diesel oil compared to the second quarter of 2022; only 19 out of 33 key fuel traders imported petroleum. Some key fuel traders often import petroleum products in large quantities but did not import them in the third quarter of 2022. It is also one of the reasons leading to a recent shortage of petroleum products at some petrol agents and retail gas stations.
To ensure supply during the peak time at the end of the year, the MoIT said that it was urgently developing policies to support and facilitate petroleum businesses in terms of credit limit, preferential interest rates, and foreign currency sources to help them reduce financial costs and increase resources to import and buy gasoline from domestic and foreign suppliers.
