The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is responsible for maintaining adequate supplies of petrol  and avoiding disruption risks.

Overview of the meeting. Source: VGP

The Government Office released the conclusion of Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai at a meeting of the Price Management Committee last week.

According to Khai, Vietnam is facing high inflationary pressure amid rising prices of strategic commodities such as petrol, fertilizers, and transportation costs.

In this context, recent price hikes of petrol products since early 2022 have resulted in the price of RON 95-IIII hitting a record high of nearly VND33,000 (US$1.42) per liter, leading to the uptick of  prices of other products and services.

Khai, therefore, called for the MoIT to stay active in the management of petrol supplies to meet domestic demands.

The Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) is tasked with working with the National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in assessing the oil production capacity of the Nghi Son Oil Refinery Plant. The assessment results will serve as the basis for the MoIT to draft the petrol supply plan for the remaining period of 2022.

In a press conference held last week, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said the ministry would consider importing petroleum from abroad in case of short domestic supply.

Domestic demand for petrol and oil consumption in 2022 is estimated at 20.7 million cubic meters,  which is met by 14.4 million cubic meters from  the domestic source  and  6.3 million cubic meters from imports.

In the second quarter, the ministry noted that the demand was around 5.2 million cubic meters and a total supply was 6.7 million cubic meters.

“This would leave the unused 1.5 million cubic meters  for the third quarter,” noted the MoIT.