The Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical complex, the second of its kind in Vietnam, held a Ready for Start-up ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the milestone of its readiness to receive shipment of crude oil for commercial production.

The operational mechanisms in the US$9 billion facility, located in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, are completely installed and will be ready to begin the production of the plant’s first commercial products, including Euro 5-standardized A95 petrol and diesel oil, in May, its operator announced at the ceremony.

By that point, Nghi Son, with a total annual production capacity of 10 million metric tons of petrochemicals, will have helped ensure national energy security and contributed approximately VND10 trillion ($436 million) to the local budget by the end of 2018.

Nghi Son will process Kuwaiti crude oil to produce liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, mainly for the domestic market.

Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical officials are seen at the ceremony in Thanh Hoa Province, located in north-central Vietnam, on February 28, 2018. Photo: PetroVietnam

Another strategic aspect of the project is its potential role in helping Vietnam meet the increasing demand for petrochemical products to serve the country’s industrialization and modernization, Turki Alajmi, general director of the complex, underlined at the ceremony.

Built in the Nghi Son Economic Zone with a total investment of more than $9 billion, the complex is Vietnam’s largest national oil and gas project. The country’s first oil refinery, Dung Quat, was developed at a cost of $3 billion.

Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan and the Kuwait Petroleum International Company each hold a 35.1 percent stake in the Nghi Son facility, whereas PetroVietnam and Japanese Mitsui Chemicals own 25.1 and 4.7 percent, respectively.

Vietnam’s first refinery Dung Quat currently supplies 30 percent of the country’s total domestic fuel demand.

The 200,000 barrel-per-day Nghi Son plant along with Dung Quat will help Vietnam meet 80 percent of its fuel demand.

Infographic of Nghi Son refinery. Photo: Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical

In related news, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR), the operator of Dung Quat, on Thursday officially started listing on UpCom, a stock exchange for unlisted public companies.

BSR held an initial public offering (IPO) in mid-January, selling 242 million shares, or a 7.79 percent stake in the company, and raking in more than VND5.56 trillion ($244.93 million) for the state budget.

The company plans to continue selling 49 percent of its shares to strategic investors, which will reduce state holdings in the refinery to 43 percent.

BSR has disclosed that Petrolimex, Vietnam’s largest fuel wholesaler, and Indian Oil Corp have filed applications to be strategic investors in the project.

Other investors, including Indonesia’s Pertamina and Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited from Thailand, have also showed interest in joining the project.

Last year BSR reported VND80.51 trillion ($3.55 billion) in revenue and a post-tax profit of VND8.03 trillion ($353.74 million).