PM Nguyen Tan Dung attended a ground breaking ceremony for Nghi Son refinery complex, on October 23rd, the second of its kind in Vietnam after Dung Quat oil refinery.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung at the groundbreaking ceremony of Nghi Son oil refinery complex project 

The USD-9 billion project, located in Nghi Son Economic Zone, in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, was approved by the prime minister in May 2006.

Idemitsu Kosan and Kuwait Petroleum International, each own a 35.1% stake in the project, while Petrovietnam and Mitsui Chemicals own 25.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

This is the biggest FDI project in Vietnam to date and is expected to meet the country’s rising demand for petro-chemical products as it continues its industrialisation and modernisation processes.

The project is scheduled to begin operation in 2017, first concentrating on major products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrol (RON 92, 95), diesel, kerosene/jet fuel, polypropylene, para-xylene, benzene and sulphur.

It has a designed capacity for refining 10 million tonnes of crude oil per year in the first phase and over 20 million tonnes in the second. It will process crude oil supplied exclusively by Kuwait Petroleum International.

Once in operation, the complex is expected to meet 40% of the nation’s demand for petro-chemical products, making a huge contribution to  the country’s power needs.

To date, Nghi Son Economic Zone has attracted 74 projects with combined total investment capital of over USD16 billion. This includes many big projects such as the Nghi Son oil refinery complex, Nghi Son 1 thermal-power plant, Nghi Son 2 thermal-power plant and Nghi Son deep-water port.