Vietnam S Petroleum Imports Surge in 5 Months

Vietnam s petroleum imports surge in 5 months

HANOI, May 29 (Xinhua) — Vietnam is estimated to spend nearly 4.9 billion U.S. dollars importing 5.8 million tons of petroleum products in the first five months of this year, up 68.7 percent in value and 6.2 percent in volume against the same period of last year.

Between January and May, Vietnam exported 5.7 million tons of crude oil worth 4.5 billion U.S. dollars, down 11.3 percent in volume but up 45.5 percent in value, according to the country’s General Statistics Office on Thursday.

To reduce reliance on petroleum imports, Vietnam, in late 2005, started the construction of its first oil refinery with an annual refining capacity of 6.5 million tons in central Quang Ngai province. The refinery is scheduled to go into operation in early 2009.

(c) 2008 Xinhua News Agency – CEIS. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.