Dung Quat refinery faces year-end surplus

PetroVietnam, the nation's state-owned oil and gas group, has said that its Dung Quat refinery will face a surplus of around 157,200 cubic meters this year even if local fuel traders try their best to purchase its products.

Petrolimex, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam that owns more than a 50 percent share of the domestic fuel market, plans to buy 273,100 cubic meters this month and at least another 407,300 cubic meters in the next two months, VnExpress reported Monday.

Other traders, including PV Oil, Petec and the jet fuel firm Vinapco, also announced plans to purchase Dung Quat’s products.

PetroVietnam said that, by the end of December, fuel companies will not be able to use up all of their inventory.

On October 4, the group announced that Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first oil refinery, had 750,000 tons of oil and gasoline products in stock and not enough space to store them.

The plant has been running at full capacity, or 30 percent higher than the plan for this year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has ordered PetroVietnam to balance supply and demand in the domestic market next year.

Related Articles

• Dung Quat refinery faces year-end surplus
• Beach conservation effort succeeds
• High rice price cuts exports
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests
• Future doctors look for clues in crazy race

Binh Dinh to hold first forestry festival next year

HCMC – The central province of Binh Dinh will organize the first forestry festival in Quy Nhon City from March 26 to 29 to create a venue for stakeholders to propose ways to develop the sector.

Le Huu Loc, deputy chairman of the province, said at the press conference in HCMC early this week that the event would be a convergence point for scientists, enterprises and managers to suggest solutions for forestry development from planting to processing and consumption.

This is a joint effort of the province, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the provincial Forestry Association.

The province, Loc said, would also take the occasion to honor contributors to forestry development and promote business links between local exporters and international buyers, probably from North America, Western Europe, Russia, Japan, China and Thailand.

The festival will feature a showcase of forestry products at 700 stands of 400 local and international businesses.

Binh Dinh – which belongs to the central focal economic zone, about 670 kilometers northeast of HCMC and 1,065 kilometers southeast of Hanoi – has 150 wood processors, most of them exporters, with annual output of 150,000 cubic meters of refined woodwork and more than 300,000 cubic meters of chip wood.

Last year, Binh Dinh exports US$250 million worth of wooden goods, 60% of the province’s total export revenue.

Related Articles

• Retail sales soar 25% in first nine months
• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw
• Vietnam extends visa fee exemption through year’s end
• New decree hopes to protect holders of convertible bonds
• iPhone 4 flies off shelf on first sales day in Vietnam

Wood imports eat up furniture makers’ profits

Vietnamese wooden furniture makers’ profits are less than 5 percent since 80 percent of the raw materials have to be imported, according to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association.

The dependence on imports is pinching them especially after the prices of timber in main supply markets like China, the US, and New Zealand have spiraled by 15-30 percent this year.

Pine and oak have seen the greatest rise, Tran Duc Sinh, the chairman of Viforest, as the association is known, said.

Exports of wooden furniture were worth $1.82 billion in the first eight months, up 20 percent year on year.

The industry hopes to increase that to $3.1 billion for the year and has enough export orders on hand to hit the target.

However, more than 6.4 million cubic meters of wood is required for that while domestic supply is only around 1.6 million cubic meters.

Besides, since the local supply is sourced mostly from young forests, the wood quality is low and only really suitable for the paper industry.

The Vietnamese government limits commercial logging to 300,000 cubic meters a year to prevent over-exploitation.

But in 2012 it will be calculated differently, ensuring domestic supply will partially replace imports, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon Online (The Saigon Economic Times Online) quoted Pham Minh Thoa of the General Forestry Department as saying.

Local supply will also be augmented under a pilot project on sustainable forestry exploitation and management, following the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) model, she said.

FSC certification is required by major furniture importers like the US and European countries as a measure against illegal logging but, a condition most Vietnamese timber suppliers have yet to meet.

Vietnam ranks second in Southeast Asia in terms of wood products export, shipping its goods to 120 countries.

Related Articles

• The power of persimmon
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests
• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw
• Binh Dinh to hold first forestry festival next year
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals

M’sian firm wants to build water supply plant in city

HCMC – Malaysia’s Green Water Investment Company has just proposed to the HCMC Department of Transport a project to build a water plant in the outlying district of Cu Chi with a daily processing output of 300,000 cubic meters.

Tran The Ky, deputy director of the transport department, told the Daily on Tuesaday that the proposal was just the initial one submitted by the Malaysian company. A detailed development plan and the total cost estimate for the project have not been mentioned in the proposal, he said.

Ky did not say whether the department would support the project, but said the city would upgrade existing water supply facilities to meet the rising demand.

“Between now and 2015, the city will focus on the third-phase expansion of the BOO Thu Duc water plant and the second-phase of Tan Hiep water plant to raise capacity by 300,000 cubic meters a day,” he said.

In the next five years, the city will also make a study on building a water collection station to tap water from the Dong Nai River and the Dau Tieng Reservoir. Therefore, the project proposed by the Malaysian firm should be considered for the period after 2015, Ky noted.

Current water supply in the city is 1.35 million cubic meters, but the supply will rise to 1.8 million cubic meters by the end of this year when expansion projects on the BOO Thu Duc and Kenh Dong water plants are completed.

Related Articles

• M’sian firm wants to build water supply plant in city
• Power plants create opportunities
• Government vows to bail out insolvent shipbuilder Vinashin
• PM sets agenda for insolvent shipbuilder
• City loses green space to construction

Vietnam to import 3 billion cubic meters of gas from 2015

A security guard walks past two gas tanks at Nam Con Son Gas Processing Terminal at Dinh Co Area in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The terminal is partly owned by PetroVietnam Gas - Photo: Van Nam

HCMC – Vietnam will have to import some three billion cubic meters of gas each year from 2015 to meet the stronger demand for industrial and household gas use, said an executive of PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PV Gas).

Do Van Hau, deputy general director of PV Gas, told a seminar on Vietnam’s gas industry held here on Wednesday that from 2015, the country would annually consume 17 billion cubic meters of gas, while PV Gas as the dominant gas supplier could supply only 14 billion cubic meters by that time.

“So the gas amount supplied each year will fall far short of the demand from 2015. PetroVietnam Gas is preparing itself to secure overseas gas sources to import three billion cubic meters each year,” said Hau.

According to PV Gas, the corporation this year can supply a total of 8.5 billion cubic meters of gas of all kinds for local demand.

This gas amount will be used for the generation of 36 billion kWh of power, and production of 800,000 tons of fertilizer, 100,000 tons of oil, and 700,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas.

Hau said that apart from gas import, exploitation at local gas fields would also be bolstered.

After some recent researches conducted by PV Gas and its foreign partners at some offshore areas in the Central Region, the corporation found out that Danang, Dong Hoi and Quang Binh are some provinces that hold much gas potential.

“PV Gas still continues further investigations at these localities so that we could start the first gas exploitation there next year,” he added.

At the seminar on Wednesday, PV Gas announced to issue 95 million shares, equivalent to 5% of its total chartered capital of VND18.95 trillion, via auction at the Hochiminh Stock Exchange. The corporation will also undergo equitization this year.

Do Khang Ninh, president and CEO of PV Gas, told the Daily at the seminar that apart from auctioning off all the shares worth 5% of its current chartered capital, PV Gas would finally sell out 25% stake, while the remaining 75% will still be held by the State.

Ninh added that “some 20 large companies from other countries are showing keen interests to become our strategic shareholders.”

Related Articles

• Vietnam - one of UK’s important partners
• Timber-product exporters sign $3b deals
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests
• Thousands await relocation
• China cassava traders seek partners