The Nghi Son Refinery, only the second of its kind in Vietnam, has received its first shipment of crude oil and looks on-track to begin commercial production by its targeted start in the last quarter of this year.

The shipment of two million barrels weighing a combined 270,000 metric tons safely arrived at the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC (NSRP) in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa from Kuwait, the refinery operator, said on Wednesday.

The shipment originated from the Kuwaiti port of Mina Al Ahmadi and travelled via the VLCC (very large crude carrier) Millenium before arriving at a single-point mooring facility approximately 35km from the refinery.

The crude oil is being pumped from the vessel through two underwater pipeline systems to the facility’s tanks, a process that takes about three days.

Once the oil is transferred to the facility, Nghi Son will conduct a test run before starting its commercial production later this year.

The facility is capable of processing 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day, or 10 million metric tons a year, which should cover about 40 percent of the domestic fuel demand.

Vietnam's existing Dung Quat refinery, located in the central province of Quang Ngai, meets about 30 percent of Vietnam’s domestic demand.

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