Nghi Son refinery starts commercial operations in November

Nghi Son refinery is Vietnam's second oil refinery

According to information published on December 10 on PetroVietnam’s website, the pre-acceptance testing of Nghi Sơn Petrochemical Refinery was concluded, passing the quality requirements stipulated in the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract.

According to the plan, in this year alone, the plant will import six million tonnes of crude oil and sell four million tonnes of finished products.

Earlier on May 1, the pilot operation of Nghi Son Petrochemical Refinery (operating at a reduced capacity) was officially launched and produced the first batch of RON A92 petrol.

Besides, on May 23, the plant also successfully produced 5,000 cubic metres of diesel oil meeting all specifications and sold it on the domestic market.

Once the plant operates with its full designed capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil, it will contribute to decreasing petroleum and diesel imports.

Located at Nghi Son Economic Zone in the central province of Thanh Hoa with the total investment capital of over $9.3 billion, it is invested by a consortium of Kuwait International Petrochemical Company (KPI, 35.1 per cent), Idemitsui Kosan (IKC, 35.1 per cent), and Mitsui Chemicals (MCI, 4.7 per cent). The rest is contributed by state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

The project has triple the construction size than the country's first refinery, Dung Quat Oil Refinery, and is kitted out with a range of modern technologies which are to be applied for the first time in Vietnam.

At present, Vietnam only has Dung Quat oil refinery in operation. Notably, opened in 2009, Dung Quat is the first-ever oil refinery in Vietnam with the capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually. So far, the refinery has refined and sold more than 47.2 million tonnes of petroleum, meeting 40 per cent of the market demand.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (BSR), the investor of Dung Quat Refinery, is working with interested investors to expand the plant.

The expansion is expected to be completed in 2020 and upon completion, the refinery’s capacity will increase by 30 per cent, or 2 million tonnes a year, to 8.5 million tonnes. This will meet half of Vietnam’s fuel demand.

Most recently, the joint venture of Wagan Corporation, GHN Group, and Masters Depot, and domestic firm Tin Thanh Group Company Limited expressed ambitions to co-operate with each other to enhance and expand Dung Quat Refinery.