HCMC fuel supply guaranteed for next 10 days

Of the 137 fuel stations that ran out of stock Tuesday, nearly 68% have resumed selling as of 12 p.m., department director Bui Ta Hoang Vu said at a press conference.

Several gas stations that VnExpress reporters visited Wednesday had less customers queuing up than Tuesday.

"People are no longer swarming the station so it has been less pressure for us," said an employee of a station in Go Vap District, asking to not be identified.

Other gas stations in Go Vap and Binh Thanh Districts saw the number of customers fall by half over Tuesday and employees there said that supplies had resumed since early morning Wednesday.

Dao Van Hung, deputy director of fuel supplier Petrolimex Saigon, said that the company will supply 400,000 cubic meters of fuel to the city over the next 10 days.

Consumption at Petrolimex stations in the city has fallen by 30% from the last several days to 2,025 cubic meters a day, the pre-shortage normal, he added.

Another supplier, Saigon Petro, said two fuel ships arrived Wednesday with 15,000 cubic meters of RON95 gasoline.

Another 20,000 cubic meters of both RON95 and diesel will arrive October 17, and 12,000 cubic meters of diesel will come on October 23, said CEO Pham Van Thoai.

Stations have received adequate fuel and supply will resume to normal in the next two days, he added.

Retailer Hoc Mon Commercial Company, which has 22 gas stations in HCMC, said that seven fuel tankers have been mobilized to supply stations in Hoc Mon District.

Tran Duy Dong, head of the domestic market department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that high profits from diesel in recent months have prompted Vietnams’ two refineries to increase production of this fuel and reduce that of gasoline.

The ministry has ordered these refineries, which account for 70% of domestic fuel needs, to ensure that their gasoline deliveries meet commitments made to suppliers.

"Backup inventory must be used if needed, to meet demand in areas where shortages have occurred," Dong said.

The ministry will also work with the State Bank of Vietnam to provide more credit to suppliers who have been complaining that banks are not willing to lend them the money to increase supply as credit quotas have been reached.

The ministry plans to give each supplier a certain sourcing quota, either from domestic refineries or from imports, to ensure market demands are met.

 

 

HCMC fuel supply guaranteed for next 10 days

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