Fuel supply adequate for February: trade ministry

Tran Duy Dong, head of domestic markets department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said oil companies could supply 1.8-2 million cubic meters this month, which is the normal demand.

But supply could decline in March, he said.

Vietnam’s biggest refinery, Nghi Son in the central province of Thanh Hoa, could resume full production by the middle of next month and imports would start arriving, and that could take care of supply, he said.

Last month the refinery had to cut down production from 105 percent of capacity to 80 percent due to a cash crunch.

Since it meets 35 percent of Vietnam’s fuel requirements, many gas stations in southern localities such as An Giang and Dong Nai have closed down in recent days complaining of lack of supply.

In response, state-owned distributor PetroVietnam Oil has ordered an additional 68,000 cubic meters of gasoline and diesel from foreign suppliers and the consignment will arrive on February 20.

Another distributor, Petrolimex, has signed deals with foreign suppliers to increase its inventories.

Several provinces and cities have called on the government to make prompt adjustments to fuel retail prices to reflect the changes in global prices.

The adjustments are usually made on the 1st, 11th or 21st of a month.