The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, better known as PetroVietnam, and its foreign partners have launched the groundbreaking ceremony for Nghi Son petrochemical complex, one of the largest foreign-invested projects in Vietnam currently, in the central province of Thanh Hoa.

With a total investment of more than $9 billion, the complex, the biggest petrochemical project in Vietnam so far, is expected to meet 40 percent of demand for petroleum products of Vietnam.

As planned, Vietnam will have its refining capacity doubled by the first quarter of 2017 when the first phase of the project completes.

The plant will have its annual refining capacity increased from 10 million tons of crude oil in the first phase to 20 million tons of crude oil in the second phase.

Once fully operation, the project will not contribute towards ensuring national energy security, but also for the industrialization and modernization of the country.

“The 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) Nghi Son facility will increase the country's oil processing capacity to 330,500 bpd by 2017, but it and a smaller older plant will only be able to meet half of the nation's fuel demand by then,” Reuters quoted PetroVietnam representative, as saying.

It will also help attract more foreign investment to Nghi Son economic Zone where it is located, and vicinity areas.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung praised the efforts of PetroVietnam and its foreign partners and their joint venture - Nghi Son Petrochemical Co, the financing and their engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contractors who have finished large volumes of work including funding arrangements in a short time to materialize the construction of the project.

The EPC contract for the project was signed on January 27 in Thanh Hoa Province between all parties relating to the project.

Nghi Son Petrochemical project is a joint venture between PetroVietnam (25.1 percent), the company Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI/KPE) (35.1 percent), Japanese Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan (IKC) (35.1 percent) and Japanese Mitsui Chemicals Co (MCI) (4.7 percent).

Major products of the plant will include LPG (32,000 tons a year), petrol RON 92 (1.131 million tons), petrol RON 95 (1.131 million tons), jet fuel (580,000 tons), high-grade diesel (2.161 million tons), and common diesel (1.441 million tons).

A step forward

Dung Quat, the country’s sole refinery came online in 2009 in the central province of Quang Ngai, was expected to be a huge leap in helping Vietnam become less dependent on oil products imports.

Official statistics showed the imports of petroleum products in the first nine months of this year slipped 23 percent to 5.58 million tons year on year after the 130,500 bpd Dung Quat plant had run at its full capacity.

Total oil products demand this year is estimated to reach up to 17 million tons, 60 percent of which will be met via imports, Reuters reported, based on an Industry and Trade Ministry forecast.

Dung Quat is looking to expand its output to 10 million tons per year by 2015 and PetroVietnam is also planning on building Long Son refinery with a cacapity of 10 million tons per year in the country's southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, targeted for completion in 2018, according to Reuters.