Spot demand from Vietnam amid tighter availability of gasoil is expected to boost prices and margins for the fuel, traders said on Monday. Spot demand from Vietnam amid tighter availability of gasoil is expected to boost prices and margins for the fuel, traders said on Monday. Traders said Vietnam's top fuel importers are seeking 85,000 tonnes of diesel ahead of a planned shutdown of the country's sole 130,000 barrels-per-day refinery at Dung Quat in June that is expected to last 52 days. Petrolimex is seeking 35,000 tonnes of 500ppm sulphur gasoil for May 18 to 22 loading in a tender that closes on April 25 and is valid until April 26. Saigon Petro is seeking five cargoes of 10,000 tonnes each of 500ppm sulphur gasoil for delivery into Catlai over June 1 to 5, June 8 to 12, June 21 to 25, July 1 to 5 and July 10 to 14, they said. Sales of diesel have been stronger than usual in Vietnam recently, a fuel distributor in Vietnam said, declining to be named as he was not authorised … [Read more...] about Asia Distillates-Vietnam spot demand to boost gasoil prices
Vietnam spots
Vietnam spots bird flu outbreaks in area near China
Vietnam said Monday four bird flu outbreaks have killed more than 900 ducks and chickens in a northern province on the border with China, Reuters reported. Health workers slaughtered another 3,717 birds in Cao Bang province after the outbreaks were reported in four communes last Friday, Reuters quoted the Agriculture Ministry's Animal Health Department as saying. "The test results showed the birds were positive with the H5 virus," it said in a report on its Web site, www.mard.gov.vn/dah. The poultry infections in Cao Bang, 270 km (170 miles) north of Hanoi and which borders the Chinese southern province of Guangxi, followed six outbreaks last week in Vietnam's north. Bird flu has killed or resulted in the slaughter of 2.39 million poultry since the virus returned in early October and has now spread to 17 of Vietnam's 64 provinces, most in the north as winter arrives. The H5N1 virus which thrives best in cooler temperatures has infected 133 people in Asia since late 2003 and … [Read more...] about Vietnam spots bird flu outbreaks in area near China
Vietnam spots object suspected to be part of missing Malaysian jetliner
A seaplane of the Vietnam Air Force spotted a floating object suspected to be a window of an airplane as it was searching for the Malaysia Airlines jetliner which vanished with 239 people on board in the waters near Vietnam on Saturday. The object was spotted at around 6:30 p.m. Vietnamese time around 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Tho Chu Island, located off Vietnam's southwest coast in the Gulf of Thailand. Two boats have been sent to the spot but they "have found nothing as yet", Colonel Doan Bao Quyet, an official responsible for the search, told Thanh Nien. Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities were looking into the "possibility" that the airline had attempted to turn back, the country's air force chief said Sunday. Authorities also said they were expanding their search for wreckage to the west coast of Malaysia. Searches so far had concentrated on waters to the country's east, in the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea. "There is a distinct possibility … [Read more...] about Vietnam spots object suspected to be part of missing Malaysian jetliner
Bkis Vietnam applauded in Black Hat security conference
Computer experts from Bkis Vietnam spotted a loophole in the facial recognition software for laptops during the Black Hat technical security conference, which was recently held in WashingtonD.C. in the US. With just several mouse clicks, computer expert Nguyen Minh Duc easily hacked through the bio-technological security barrier to log-on to Asus, Lenovo and Toshiba laptops, even though they were protected with the highest facial recognition security measures. This demonstration came as a surprise to all participants. … [Read more...] about Bkis Vietnam applauded in Black Hat security conference
Vietnam to halt term Bach Ho crude supplies to Asia
Vietnam will halt term exports of its flagship Bach Ho crude next quarter as it diverts supplies to its first refinery, further tightening the Asia-Pacific market, sources said on Friday. Besides term barrels, state oil marketer PV Oil has sharply reduced spot volumes of Bach Ho, pushing up differentials of other Vietnamese as well as similar alternative regional and African light sweet grades. Output of Bach Ho, whose crude used to be a major regional export grade, is declining and most existing supplies will be channeled to the 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dung Quat Refinery, Vietnamese officials said. Vietnam, Southeast Asia's third-largest crude oil producer after Indonesia and Malaysia, will export just 40,000 bpd of Bach Ho this year, down from 155,000 bpd in 2008 and 240,000 bpd when it was at its peak after production began in the 1980s. "They're saying the supplies will stop starting in July," a source said. When it renewed term contracts in February for Bach Ho supplies to … [Read more...] about Vietnam to halt term Bach Ho crude supplies to Asia