Northern Vietnam to house $1.5 bln petrochemical complex

Stavian Chemical, a major global polymers distributor with significant presence in Southeast Asia, has struck a deal to develop a $1.5 billion petrochemical facility in Quang Ninh province.

The Stavian Quang Yen Petrochemical project, a partnership between Hanoi-headquartered Stavian and Quang Ninh-based Yen Hung Liquid Port JSC (YHLP), will be built on 30 hectares at the Bac Tien Phong Industrial Park, Quang Yen town. YHLP will supply the facility with materials and other inputs.

The project is expected to supply 600,000 tons of polypropylene (PP), a type of polymer, every year. It is slated to start operations by the fourth quarter of 2026.

Stavian Quang Yen Petrochemical JSC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Wednesday with provincial authorities and Bac Tien Phong IP representatives.

The investors said they had selected the most advanced technologies in polypropylene production (PP) to date, including PDH technology from American company Honeywell UOP, and PP technology from Italy-based LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals, and refining companies in the world.

The petrochemical facility would also use high-quality equipment from Europe and the G-7 countries to ensure environmentally friendly production and minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

The northern province is implementing procedures to issue an investment certificate to Stavian Quang Yen Petrochemical JSC.

Stavian is the largest polymers distributor in Vietnam. Other polymer makers in the country include Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP), Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR) and South Korean firm Hyosung.

Located in Thanh Hoa province, about 260 kilometers south of Hanoi, NSRP is a $9 billion refinery co-owned by the state-run Petrovietnam, Kuwait Petroleum Europe B.V. (KPE), and Japan’s Mitsui Chemical and Idemitsu Kosan Co. The refinery’s polypropylene capacity is 370,000 tons a year.

Meanwhile, BSR’s annual PP capacity is 150,000 tons. BSR, Vietnam’s first refinery and also called Dung Quat Refinery, is a Petrovietnam subsidiary and has received more than $3 billion in investments.

South Korea's Hyosung operates its 600,000 ton per year PP plant in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, which borders Ho Chi Minh City. The $1.3 billion factory, Hyosung Vina Chemicals, is the newest PP producer in Vietnam.

Hyosung Vina Chemicals has two PP production units with an annual designed capacity of 300,000 tons each. The first started production in March 2020 while the second began its trial run last September.

Also in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, considered Vietnam’s oil and gas exploration hub, Thai giant Siam Cement Group (SCG) is developing the $5.4 billion Long Son petrochemical complex. The conglomerate expects the project to start operations next year.

In August 2018, SCG signed loan agreements worth more than $3.2 billion with six leading financial institutions to carry out the project. The lenders were: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Export-Import Bank of Thailand.