There is no need to worry about the fuel supply

However, experts believe there is no need to worry about the fuel supply.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted Tran Hoai Nam, vice president of Vietjet Air, as saying that air fuel consumption in Vietnam may reach a record high this year and will keep rising because of the aviation boom.

It cited a report showing that by November 2018, Vietnam had imported 1.87 million tons of fuel, or 14.8 million barrels, an increase of 18 percent compared with the same period last year. The demand for air fuel in Vietnam was estimated to be 20-25 percent more in 2018 compared with the year before.

According to Petrolimex, the biggest importer and supplier of petroleum products, Vietnam consumes 18 million barrels of fuel each year.

Analysts believe that fuel imports will continue rising sharply and Vietnam will have to rely on imports as domestic production cannot satisfy the high demand, because Vietnam only has two oil refineries, Dung Quat and Nghi Son in the central region.

As both plants focus on making petrol and diesel, the air fuel output is just at 5 percent.

Nguyen Van Ngai, vice rector of the Hoa Sen University, has reassured the public, saying that Vietnam is capable of producing air fuel.

“It is not technologically difficult to make jet fuel. Vietnam has raw materials to produce it,” he said.

However, it would be better to import this kind of fuel if the import is more economical.
If the aviation industry operates effectively and prospers, it will have money to pay for fuel imports, he said.

Meanwhile, Dinh Trong Thinh from the Finance Academy remains cautious about the production of air fuel. There are many different kinds of petrol and products made from crude oil. Complicated techniques and heavy investments are required to make jet fuel, the lightest kind of petrol. 

Vietnam has oil refineries but not all of them can make jet fuel. To organize production of jet fuel, Vietnam would have to import production lines and consider other issues, including market demand, expected consumption level and investment efficiency.

“I believe that Vietnam will have to import jet fuel for a long time,” he said.

Regarding the reliance on fuel imports, Thinh said many other countries cannot make fuel locally to satisfy demand.

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