Vietnam's Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP) has bought more non-Kuwaiti crude to supply its 200,000 b/d refinery, including what appears to be its first purchases of US and Qatari grades.
NSRP bought 1mn bl of US light sweet WTI crude and 1mn bl of Abu Dhabi light sour Das crude for April delivery through a tender, according to a source familiar with the refinery's operations. The company also bought 1mn bl of Das for May delivery through the same tender, along with 1mn bl of Qatari medium sour Al-Shaheen crude and another 1mn bl of Das for June delivery. That takes NSRP's total tender purchase to 5mn bl for April-June delivery. Further details are unclear.
These purchases will supplement the firm's existing intake of medium sour Kuwait Export Crude (KEC), the source said. KEC remains the core baseload feedstock for the Nghi Son refinery in north Vietnam.
NSRP has never before received crude from the US or Qatar, data from global trade analytics platforms Kpler and Vortexa show.
The refinery has processed almost exclusively KEC since it started operations in 2018. NSRP bought 1mn bl of Das for December delivery in late October, its first spot crude purchase.
NSRP said it processed the Das volumes at its refinery on 12 January, which was the first time it had processed non-Kuwaiti crude.
The firm expects to import around 10mn-12mn bl/yr (27,000-33,000 b/d) of non-Kuwaiti crude as part of its plan to support stable operations at around 120pc of the refinery's original design capacity, especially during specific operating periods such as when its residue hydrodesulphurisation (RHDS) unit undergoes maintenance.
