As the global energy supply chain wobbles in the wake of the Iran war, Vietnam is rapidly shifting its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import sources from the Middle East to the United States.
According to Bloomberg on the 28th (local time), Vietnam state-run gas company PetroVietnam Gas (PV GAS) plans to import 66,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the United States in May. That far exceeds the Middle East import volume (44,000 tons) for the same period. This month's import volume (76,000 tons) also surged more than 30 times in a month compared with the first intake in March (2,200 tons).
The shift stems from disruptions to energy production in the Middle East due to U.S.-Israeli military clashes with Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. As major Middle Eastern suppliers successively declared force majeure, existing long-term contracts unraveled. Pham Van Phong, PV GAS president, said, "With most existing contracts suspended by the war, we moved to secure new suppliers in the United States, Australia, Europe and Africa."
PV GAS's LPG imports over the three months since the war are expected to total 250,000 tons, with more than half of that from the United States. Bloomberg said this shows not just a temporary response but a restructuring of the global LPG market itself.
In particular, as production facilities in Qatar, a key supplier, were hit, countries across Asia faced an unprecedented supply shortfall. India moved to respond by ramping up refining output, and Vietnam is also speeding up diversification of its import sources. Phong said, "The Middle East has the advantage of shorter transport distance and time, but it will be difficult to return to previous levels," adding, "This crisis is prompting a fundamental review of our supply chain strategy."
To stabilize domestic prices, the Vietnamese government is tapping an emergency fund while pushing to expand nuclear and gas infrastructure in cooperation with Russia, South Korea and Japan. In particular, it has also laid out a medium- to long-term plan for energy self-reliance, including a large-scale LPG terminal project in the northern port city of Haiphong, with about 7.5 trillion dong (about 420 billion won) to be invested for completion in 2028.