Russia has shipped its first naphtha cargo to Vietnam, as it seeks new buyers to support sales hit by Western sanctions, data from traders and shipbrokers showed, Reuters said.
According to LSEG and Vortexa shipping data, the Malta‑flagged tanker Northernlight loaded around 60,000 metric tons of naphtha in the Russian Baltic port of Vysotsk on June 23 and delivered its cargo at Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa terminal.
The tanker discharged up to 27,000 tons of naphtha at Khanh Hoa, one of the sources said, adding that the terminal mostly consists of bonded storage tanks.
After the Vietnam stop, the Northernlight is heading to the Chinese port of Dalian to discharge the rest of its cargo.
Since the European Union’s full embargo on Russian oil products took effect in February 2023, countries in the Middle East and Asia have become the main destinations for Russia’s naphtha supplies.
Russia does not supply oil to Vietnam, despite active cooperation in the oil industry between state companies; the only test supply was in 2015, when a cargo of ESPO was shipped to the Dung Quat refinery.
JBC Energy GmbH is a private energy consultancy headquartered in Germany that provides analysis and trading data on global oil, gas and petrochemicals markets. It compiles shipping and commodity flow data, such as LSEG and Vortexa feedstocks referenced in the report.
Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) is a wholly state‑owned joint‑stock company designated by the Vietnamese government to conduct import, storage and distribution of petroleum products.