Page 7 - AsianOil Week 20

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activity, including a decrease in domestic diesel oil demand,” Reuters quoted the ministry’s direc- tor-general, Ego Syahrial, on April 22 as saying in a letter. Syahrial said Pertamina had an excess of 2.4mn kilolitres of diesel.
Indonesia’s posted a trade deficit of $350mn in April owing to falling commodity prices and a depressed global economy, Sta- tistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed this month. Exports shrank 7.02% year on year in April
Vietnam rejects oil product import freeze
to $12.19bn worth, while imports retreated 18.58% to $12.54bn.
“There are two main factors: commodity prices fell significantly last month while the coronavirus pandemic upended global demand,” The Jakarta Post quoted BPS head Suhariyanto as saying on May 15. The value of the country’s oil and gas exports slumped 17.7% y/y to $610mn owing to reduced international demand and the collapse in international crude benchmarks.™
POLICY
PetroVietnam said inventories had reached 90% of capacity after first-quarter domestic fuel demand slumped 30% year on year
THE Vietnamese Trade Ministry has reportedly rejected state-owned PetroVietnam’s call for a suspension in petroleum imports in order to boost consumption of local stockpiles.
Deputy Trade Minister Do Thang Hai said at a May 15 government meeting that the proposal, while carefully considered, had been deemed unfeasible, local daily VN Express reported on May 16. The minister added that such a move would violate the country’s international trade agreements as well as its commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“And then, what if they ban Vietnam’s main products from being exported to their countries in return?” Hai was quoted as asking.
The state oil major submitted its proposal in mid-April, claiming that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the oil price crash had led to a rapid inventory build-up at its 148,000 barrel per day Dung Quat and 200,000 bpd Nghi Son refineries.
PetroVietnam said inventories had reached 90% of capacity after first-quarter domestic fuel demand slumped 30% year on year. Fuel imports during the period accounted for 35% of consumption. VN Express, however, quoted an unnamed trade ministry official at the time as saying that the low oil price environment bene- fitted Vietnamese importers.
The major also asked the government to lift value added tax (VAT) on oil product exports so that it could competitively export its inven- tory. Retail fuel prices have dropped eight times this year, with only a modest increase recorded last week.
Vietnam’s oil product imports slipped 21.6% y/y in the first four months of this year to 2.4mn tonnes, VN Newsnet cited customs data as showing on May 19. The value of those imports fell by 40.6% to $1.12bn.
S&P Global Platts Analytics has forecast that the country’s gradual economic restart will trans- late to a “relatively mild decline” in the country’s oil product demand in the second quarter.™
Week 20 21•May•2020 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7