Shell mulls selling Vietnam bitumen plants

October 17, 2012 | 15:46

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After pulling its LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) business out of Vietnam last week, Dutch energy and petrochemical company Shell is considering selling its two bitumen manufacturing plants in the country as well.

A barrel of Shell bitumen is pictured in this illustrative photo.

Shell currently runs one bitumen plant at the Go Dau Industrial Park in the southern province of Dong Nai, and one at the Cua Lo park in the northern province of Nghe An.

The Dutch company is reevaluating its bitumen sector in Vietnam, which is also included in its business strategy of withdrawing from liquefied petroleum gas, said Le Duy Thanh, CEO of Shell Vietnam.

Shell is aiming to develop in fewer markets but at a larger scale, Shell Vietnam said in a statement sent to its dealers nationwide when announcing the withdrawal on October 10.

Shell has transferred its entire share in a joint-venture in Haiphong, and a Ho Chi Minh City-based company, 100 per cent of whose stake it held, to Thailand’s Siam Gas Co, officially becoming the third global LPG brand names to leave the country, after Mobile Unique Gas and Castrol BP Petco.

The company is eying doubling its growth in the lubricant oil sector by 2015, and wants to enter the fuel market, if permitted by Vietnamese laws.

At present, only state-run enterprises are allowed to operate as fuel wholesalers, which import and distribute petroleum and oil commodities in Vietnam.

Tuoi Tre

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