Nghi Son oil refinery to pause operations for maintenance

The Nghi Son oil refinery will pause operations for 55 days starting August 25, as it undergoes its first major maintenance after five years of operation.

Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC (NSRP), operator of the refinery that accounts for 35% of petroleum supply in Vietnam, announced the maintenance schedule Tuesday.

It said the maintenance aims to ensure continued safe and reliable operations and to secure and enhance long-term production.

During maintenance, the refinery's manufacturing unit will be shut down completely, the operator said, adding that it has taken to minimize impacts of the closure.

Nghi Son is a $9 billion refinery jointly owned by Petrovietnam, Kuwait Petroleum Europe B.V. (KPE) and Japan’s Mitsui Chemical and Idemitsu Kosan Co. The facility in the central province of Thanh Hoa has a processing capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, or 10 million tons a year.

Nghi Son’s output this year is expected to reach 79.6% of its capacity, the NSRP reported while reviewing the repairs it underwent in January.

The refinery’s output last year was 87.9% of its capacity, equivalent to 8.9 million tons. The refinery operator attributed the fall to the repairs and the impending maintenance closure.

Nghi Son's contribution to Vietnam's economy has been significant at approximately $3.3 billion in 2018-2021. The refinery helped the country save $260 million by reducing import demand.

The total supply of petroleum in Vietnam reached 9.8 million cubic meters in the first five months of this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Of this, Nghi Son and Dung Quat, the only two oil refineries in Vietnam, accounted for 53% and imports accounted for 42.6%.