Vietnam’s first oil refinery prepares for fifth, most comprehensive maintenance

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR), operator of Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first oil refinery, will conduct its fifth general maintenance from March 15 to May 1, or 48 days.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR), operator of Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first oil refinery, will conduct its fifth general maintenance from March 15 to May 1, or 48 days.

The latest maintenance is expected to outweigh previous exercises, involving 546 static mechanical equipment, 977 pipeline equipment, 67 mechanical equipment, 275 electrical equipment, 3,195 automation equipment, 67 improvement projects, and seven tie-in projects.

Operator BSR is preparing a 48-day maintenance of the Dung Quat oil refinery in Quang Ngai province, central Vietnam, starting March 15. Photo courtesy of BSR.

Nghi Son and Dung Quat, the only two operational oil refineries in Vietnam, account for over half of the petroleum supply in the country.

Starting operations in February 2009, Dung Quat, located in Quang Ngai province, has so far churned out 91 million tons of petroleum products, earned revenues of VND1,570 trillion ($63.5 billion), contributed VND220 trillion ($8.9 billion) to the state budget, and recorded post-tax profits of VND49.2 trillion ($1.99 billion).

In 2023, the facility recorded its highest ever output at 7.36 million tons and earned revenues of VND150 trillion ($6.07 billion).

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC reported a consolidated net profit of VND8.51 trillion ($348.5 million) in 2023, down 42.2% year-on-year. It posted revenues of VND147.42 trillion ($6.04 billion) last year, down 11.8% year-on-year, according to the company's consolidated financial statement. Higher financial, sales and management costs were factors behind the fall in revenue, it said.

Vietnam’s petroleum output increased 25.8% year-on-year to nearly 1.43 million tons in January, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). Last year, the country's petroleum output climbed 1.5% year-on-year to nearly 14.52 million tons.