Vietnam Dung Quat processes maiden Sokol cargo: Correct

: Crude oil
20/08/11

Correct class of tanker transporting the cargo in paragraph 3

Vietnam's 145,000 b/d Dung Quat refinery processed its maiden cargo of Russia's light sweet Sokol crude in July, underscoring its bid to diversify its feedstock.

Dung Quat ran a blend comprising up to 20pc of Sokol in its crude distillation unit (CDU), cutting the proportion of domestic Bach Ho crude used. "The experimental results show that it is possible to gradually replace Bach Ho crude oil in the near future, which has deteriorated in output and quality," according to Dung Quat operator Binh Son Refinery (BSR).

BSR had bought its first 710,000 bl cargo of Sokol from a trading firm in a spot tender in May. The Aframax cargo arrived at Dung Quat on 4 July, shipped from South Korea's Yosu port, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa.

BSR has been boosting crude imports to compensate for falling output of domestic grades such as Bach Ho, the main grade processed at Dung Quat. Last year Dung Quat took its first cargo of US light sweet WTI and Nigeria's light sweet Bonny Light. BSR this year has also bought term cargoes of WTI, Azeri BTC and Brunei's Champion for term delivery to Dung Quat.

Dung Quat mainly runs 38-40°API crude. Sokol has a gravity of 35.09°API and a sulphur content of 0.28pc. Sokol crude comes from Sakhalin island in Russia's far east and is produced by Rosneft and the ExxonMobil-led Sakhalin 1 consortium, in which Rosneft is also a partner.

By Yvette Choo

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