Vietnam to Scale its Fuel Storage Capacity to $31 Billion by 2030

Vietnam has approved a plan to increase its national fuel storage capacity to 750 trillion dong ($31.7 billion) by 2030.

According to the plan signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on July 18, the investment would increase the country's crude oil and refined fuel storage capacity to 75 to 80 days of net imports. As per regional media, the country's current fuel storage capacity is 65 days of net imports, as stated by the Minister of Industry and Trade in March.

The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub, has experienced fuel supply shortages due to limited global supplies or malfunctions at its domestic oil refineries. According to the plan, the majority of the funds for the plan would come from businesses and the state budget.

The country will also build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and associated LNG storage facilities with an annual capacity of 20 million tonnes by 2030, according to the plan. Vietnam received its first LNG shipment this month, marking a watershed moment for the energy-hungry country, which aims to have 13 power plants fed by LNG by 2030.

However, due to various obstacles, it may take years for imported gas to alleviate the country's long-standing power shortages.

Apart from increasing commercial capacity, the storage plan aims to increase the capacity of the national fuel reserves by 500,000 cubic metres.