PV Drilling I, a floating offshore drilling rig of PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation. — Photo pvdrilling.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has issued a dispatch requesting the joint efforts of ministries, sectors and localities to ensure a balance between supply and demand of petroleum products.

This request is also necessary to meet the needs of the domestic market and support socio-economic recovery and development.

In the document on Tuesday, he noted that petroleum is a strategic, important and sensitive commodity that affects people's psychology and directly impacts macro-economic stability, so it must be managed and operated in a scientific and strict manner, in accordance with legal provisions.

He asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies in managing the balance in the petroleum market to avoid shortages and conducting inspections of supply and distribution units as well as trading stations across the country in order to detect and deal with acts of hoarding petroleum for profit and other violations.

The ministry was required to collaborate with the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises in working with the Việt Nam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) and related agencies and units to determine the committed output of domestic petrol manufacturing enterprises as a basis for ensuring the imports of petroleum meet market needs.

It should actively cooperate with the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to provide adequate and accurate information on petroleum production, import and distribution, price administration, directions of the Government and the Prime Minister on this issue, as well as related violations and handling measures on mass media.

The Government leader also requested the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies in studying and proposing a plan to adjust the tax policy on environmental protection for petroleum products, and asked the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to closely inspect and supervise the sale of petrol and oil at retail stores in the localities.

Talking to the press on Tuesday, Trần Duy Đông, Director of the Domestic Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that to ensure the continuous supply of petroleum to the market, the investment units have boosted the import of petroleum to make up for the shortage of supply from domestic production.

Currently, PV Oil is importing more and expects about 66,000 m3 of petrol to arrive by the end of this month; Petrolimex imports 300,000 m3 of petroleum; Hải Hà Petro imports about 90,000 m3 of oil.

Data from the General Department of Customs showed that petroleum imports of key traders reached 803,000 m3 in the first 15 days of this month, an increase of more than 60 per cent compared to normal. About 600,000 m3 will be imported in the last days of this month.

"With such a supply situation, the local shortage of petroleum will soon be resolved, and the supply and demand for the domestic market will be stable," said the director.

Recently, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Sinh Nhật Tân signed and sent Document No 764/BCT-KH to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment asking for opinions on the plan to auction RON 92 national reserve gasoline in Việt Nam of 12 storage points of three enterprises, namely Petrolimex, PVOil and Petimex.

Accordingly, the auctioned property is a national reserve shipment consisting of 101,976,121 litres of RON 92 gasoline, which is used to prepare E5 gasoline, at the actual temperature at the storage warehouse according to data as of December 31 last year.

The auction starting price is specified for 1 litre of RON 92 gasoline at the actual temperature at the petroleum storage depot. Other costs will be paid by the purchaser.

According to this document, the starting price is temporarily calculated to determine the reservation based on Decision No 1641/QĐ-BCT dated August 27 last year of the Ministry of Finance on the minimum selling price of national reserve RON 92 gasoline. — VNS