14-03-05

Oil policy makers from China, Japan, South Korea and the Association of South Asian Nations, known collectively as Asean+3, held a meeting in Hanoi to discuss steps to build strategic oil reserves in the Asian region. A Vietnamese government official said that participants discussed short- and long-term proposals on oil stockpiles among the countries in the region.
"We had the chance to look at some options by different countries, and we will prepare final drafts for consideration at the 23rd Senior Officials Meeting on Energy to be held in Cambodia in July," the official said.

In the short term, ASEAN countries are preparing their plans outlined under a new petroleum security agreement, which will include the Coordinated Emergency Response Measures and Standard Operating Procedures, he said. In the long term, the region will increase exploration and production of new fields, promote energy efficiency, conservation and fuel diversification, he said.
"All the delegates have agreed to worktogether to minimize the exposure to emergency situations by giving high importance to the oil stockpiling policy," he added.

Among ASEAN countries, Laos and Cambodia currently have no petroleum reserves.
"Vietnam will build new reserve capacity in the coming year, and we will offer more oil-rich areas to producers via our current licensing round, which provides access to nine deep-water blocks in the Phu Khanh Basin," he said. Vietnam has no oil refining facilities and imports all of its oil products.

Vietnam plans to produce about 20 mm tons of crude oil this year, unchanged on year, and import about 12.4 mm tons this year, up 14 % on year, government figures show.
The government of Vietnam didn't make public its petroleum product reserves, but industry experts estimate the country's reserves at 1.5 mm to 2 mm tons, or enough for 45-60 days.

Source: Dow Jones