Vietnam's Binh Son refinery steps up US oil imports

HANOI/SINGAPORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Vietnam's Binh Son oil refinery is set to receive 1 million barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude in January, its second purchase in three months as it steps up imports from the United States, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Vietnam has been seeking to buy more U.S. goods to narrow a trade gap between the two countries since Trump threatened in April to impose tariffs on Vietnamese products.

Crude oil, liquefied natural gas, farm produce, and aircraft are among the U.S. goods that Vietnam is looking to import.

Swiss trader Mercuria sold the 1-million-barrel cargo which will be delivered on January 7-11, the sources said. The companies typically do not comment on commercial deals.

BSR last received 700,000 barrels of WTI on November 14, the country's first import since December 2024, data from shipping analytics firm Kpler showed.

The refiner said on Sunday that its output of refined products in the first 11 months of this year is estimated at 7.24 million tons, exceeding its target. BSR has been operating at 120% of designed capacity this year, and is looking to ramp up to 123%-125% next year, it added.