A report compiled by Petrolimex, the advisor for the project, showed that in 2011-2015, consumption goes up and down depending on economic development. There is no accurate figure about the petroleum volume consumed every year in Vietnam.

When surveying the market to collect materials for programming, MOIT received reports from local industry departments about consumption in 2013-2015. 

However, the figures were unreliable, because the departments issued reports based on enterprises’ goods delivery notes. 

The volume of delivered goods does not always mean consumed volume. Some of the goods are carried to wholesale shops, while the other part was taken to other provinces. Local industry departments also do not have figures about the air fuel consumed at airports. 

The statistics MOIT has do not allow it to calculate the volume of petroleum products consumed domestically and exported.

MOIT, after considering the domestic output, and imports and re-exports in 2010-2015, estimates that 15.46 million tons of petrol products were consumed in 2015, which meant 18.5 percent growth rate compared with the year before.

According to the General Department of Customs (GDC), the figure was 15.42 million.

After two years of decline in 2012 and 2013, the consumption of petroleum products bounced back in 2014. 

In 2010-2015, Vietnam witnessed an average growth rate of 5.96 percent per annum, while petroleum consumption grew by 4.24 percent per annum.

According to MOIT, by the end of November 2016, Vietnam had 29 petroleum importers and traders, including Petrolimex, with output of 7,835,843 tons, and 60 percent of the distribution market, and PV Oil 3,065,586 tons.

There are 223 petrol and oil warehouses across the country, of which 132 warehouses have capacity of up to 5,000 cubic meters, 83 warehouses 5,000-10,000 cubic meters and eight 100,000 cubic meters. There is one bonded warehouse and one warehouse at an oil refinery.

Vietnam strives to have 140-200 million tons of equivalent oil in reserves in 2016-2020 and 300-420 million tons in 2026-2035. It plans to exploit 10-15 million tons of oil and gas a year in 2016-2020.

MOIT admitted that the consumption forecast released in 2009 was higher than the real consumption. It said the country would consume 23.2 million tons of petroleum by 2015, but the real figure was 15.3 million tons only.

The big gap in the forecasted and real consumed volumes have led to inaccurate estimates of the demand for storehouses and investments.

Kim Chi