(Adds quote from senior company executive, background on
Vietnam crude oil imports)
By Shu Zhang and Khanh Vu
SINGAPORE/HANOI, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Binh Son
Refining and Petrochemical BSR.HNO has bought 1 million
barrels of Bonny Light crude in its first-ever import of
Nigerian crude, two trade sources and a senior company executive
told Reuters on Friday.
Binh Son bought the crude cargo in mid-August for delivery
in October-November for its 130,000-barrel-per-day Dung Quat
refinery, according to the sources, all of whom declined to be
named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
"This is the first batch of crude oil we have imported from
Nigeria for the plant," said the company executive, who declined
to reveal further details.
"We haven't decided yet if we will keep importing Nigerian
crude in the future."
Binh Son, Vietnam's first refinery, is stepping up efforts
to reduce its dependence on the country's dwindling domestic
crude supply and widen its purchase options.
Vietnam has been relying more on imported crude due to a
slowdown in domestic output as its reserves decline at existing
fields, and because of China's increasingly assertive stance in
the region hampers offshore exploration.
Vietnam's crude oil imports for the January-August period
more than doubled from a year earlier to 5.57 million tonnes, as
its domestic oil output fell 6.9%, official data shows.
Last month, Binh Son's Vice-CEO Nguyen Van Hoi said the
company would import 2 million to 3 million barrels of U.S. West
Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude in the second half of this year
for the refinery.
Price levels for West African crude grades like Bonny Light
are competitive compared with regional sweet, or low-sulphur,
crude grades in the Asian markets, said the two trade sources.
Oil major BP BP.L likely sold the cargo to Binh Son,
according to other trader sources.