Ensuring energy flow under any circumstances therefore means maintaining the rhythm of the entire economy and minimizing the impact on the people, especially vulnerable groups. However, with the global energy market becoming increasingly volatile due to geopolitical conflicts, to help the oil market overcome difficult times, it is necessary to strengthen long-term foundations such as: diversifying crude oil supply sources; improving price management mechanisms and more appropriate tax policies; and especially developing storage infrastructure.
Vietnam's economy has risen to 32nd place globally , and energy demand is growing, but the infrastructure for storing gasoline and crude oil is not yet adequate. Reserve tiers have been established, from national reserves to commercial reserves held by businesses and reserves for refineries' production. However, the total scale remains modest, failing to create a sufficiently strong buffer. The coordination mechanism between national reserves and commercial reserves held by businesses is still inflexible, affecting the ability to respond quickly to market fluctuations.
In terms of infrastructure, Vietnam currently lacks a proper national petroleum reserve system; the majority of reserves are held by key enterprises. Regulations on minimum reserve levels for key traders and distributors remain low compared to international practices, limiting their ability to respond to prolonged shocks.
Looking at the world, major economies are focusing on stockpiling gasoline and crude oil. The US maintains strategic oil reserves sufficient to meet consumption needs for more than a month. In Asia, many countries are proactively building large-scale energy buffer zones capable of absorbing short-term shocks from international markets. Japan maintains reserves equivalent to approximately 254 days of imports, South Korea around 200 days, while China accumulates reserves estimated to be equivalent to 70-90 days of net imports.
In Vietnam, in 2023, the Prime Minister approved the National Petroleum and Gas Reserve and Supply Infrastructure Plan, aiming to ensure that the country's crude oil and petroleum product reserves reach 75-80 days of net imports, striving to reach 90 days of net imports, in order to provide a sufficient and continuous supply of petroleum products for socio-economic development and national defense and security.
Clearly, in the context of continuously increasing energy demand, coupled with the growing size of the global economy and increasingly volatile energy markets, enhancing storage capacity and expanding the scale of gasoline and crude oil reserves is no longer an option but an urgent requirement. The primary focus should be on establishing large-scale national crude oil reserves, linked to petrochemical refining centers, to maintain production when international supply fluctuates.
Furthermore, the reserve system needs to be designed to combine national reserves with commercial reserves of enterprises. The State plays a facilitating role, investing in a portion of the strategic infrastructure, while also building mechanisms to encourage enterprise participation, sharing the burden of costs, and enhancing the flexibility of the entire system.
When the capacity and scale of petroleum reserves are increased, and when the reserve tiers are interconnected and operate efficiently, the ability to regulate the market will no longer depend on temporary measures, but will become an intrinsic strength, helping the economy overcome energy shocks that may occur at any time.
