HCMC – The Government is planning to develop an oil refinery with an annual capacity of 10 million tons of fuels in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh told a question-and-answer session of the National Assembly Standing Committee’s ninth sitting today, March 16.
Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) will complete procedures within 10 months to develop the refinery project, said the deputy prime minister.
The project is aimed at ensuring sufficient supply of fuel and stabilizing the domestic prices of oil products in the local market as many cities and provinces are facing a shortage of fuel, while residents have decried the hike in fuel prices.
The Government will also ramp up oil drilling and exploitation to meet the demand for crude oil for fuel production as the country is meeting some 50% of the demand, the local media reported.
Vietnam remains reliant on imports of fuel and crude oil, said the deputy prime minister, adding that the two oil refineries, Dung Quat and Nghi Son, are still importing crude oil for production.
The combined annual capacity of the two refineries is some 13 million tons of fuel, while the annual domestic consumption is 20-21 million tons. As such, changes in global fuel prices will affect domestic fuel prices.
The new refinery will raise the annual capacity of fuel to 23 million tons, helping meet the domestic demand and stabilize the local fuel market.
Thanh also presented some solutions to the current shortage of fuel facing many parts of the country. Accordingly, domestic fuel production and import will be ramped up to ensure consumption for two or three months.
Besides, investigators were assigned to clarify why several filling stations closed down and would impose harsh sanctions on violators.
