Vietnam: E5 bio-fuel meets local demand

Vietnam: E5 bio-fuel meets local demand

The supply of E5 bio-fuel is enough to meet the local demand and can fully
replace RON 92 petrol beginning next year, the Ministry of Industry and
Trade (MoIT) said.

The ministry said it had established a team to work with E5 bio-fuel
producers and traders, and Binh Son Refinery to accelerate progress, as well
as prepare infrastructure for the use of E5 bio-fuel nationwide. This
followed the latest decision passed by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung
concerning the bio-fuel development project and the roadmap for shifting to
bio-fuel mixed with fossil fuels.

On July 6, MoIT met with 26 petrol wholesalers asking them to strictly trade
in E5 while resolving other difficulties on time.

Statistics from the ministry showed that the total petroleum consumption
amount in the country last year was around 7.4 million cu.m. Of this, the E5
bio-fuel consumption was 590,000cu.m, accounting for 8 per cent of the total
consumption, while that of RON 92 petrol was 92 per cent, equivalent to 6.81
million cu.m.

The ministry said that if the country halted the use of RON 92 petrol from
the beginning of next year, the total E5 bio-fuel consumption would be more
than 5.3 million cu.m.

The supply of bio-fuel ethanol for E5 petrol, which is a mix of A92 petrol
(95 per cent) and bio-fuel Ethanol (5 per cent), has been mainly provided by
two biological plants of Tung Lam Joint Stock Company, having a total yearly
capacity of 200,000 cu.m to produce 3.9 cu.m of E5 a year.
In 2016, the company sold around 2,000 cu.m of ethanol to the market.

There are two ethanol plants in southern Dung Quat and Binh Phuoc provinces
with a capacity of 100,000 cu.m a year. However, the two plants had
temporarily halted their operations owing to lack of demand. They have been
asked to restart operations by the end of this year to cater to the
nationwide demand for E5 bio-fuel, once it replaces RON 92 petrol.

The ministry added that five out of the 26 petrol traders have their own E5
bio-fuel mixing system, including Viet Nam National Petroleum Group
(Petrolimex), PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), HCM City Oil and Gas
Company (Saigon Petro), Military Petroleum Corporation and Nam Song Hau
Trading and Investing Petroleum Joint Stock Company.

Petrolimex has five E5 mixing stations in Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, HCM
City and Can Tho that uses in-line mixing technology with a total capacity
of around 1.05 million cu.m. Petrolimex has planned to increase its number
of current mixing stations, as well as invest in those in Ha Noi, Phu Tho,
Quang Ninh, Ha Nam, Nghe An, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The
total mixing capacity after the investment would reach 3 million cu.m to 3.4
million cu.m a year.

PV Oil has 12 mixing stations in nine cities and provinces with a total
yearly capacity of 1.06 million cu.m. In addition to these, it has been
investing in five mixing stations in Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Ha Tinh and Can
Tho provinces. It is also upgrading its current stations to bring the total
capacity to 1.67 million cu.m a year.

The three remaining companies have total mixing capacity of more than
800,000 cu.m a year.

The PETIMEX and Thanh Le Import-export Corporation, which have E5 bio-fuel
mixing stations with a total capacity of 750,000 cu.m to 800,000 cu.m a
year, have not been brought into operation.

The total yearly capacity of E5 mixing stations from the seven petroleum
traders could reach 6.2 million cu.m to 6.7 million cu.m to meet with the
demand for E5 beginning next year.

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Link to Original Article:
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/182178/e5-bio-fuel-meets-local-dem
and--ministry.html

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com