Quang Ngai province eyes energy, petrochemical center in Dung Quat

Quang Ngai has proposed the construction of a national petrochemical and energy center within its Dung Quat Economic Zone, during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to the central province on Sunday.

The prime minister affirmed such a center in Dung Quat is necessary for the country’s oil and gas industry and national energy security. It also matches the Politburo’s Resolution 26 on the socioeconomic development and defense-security of the central coastal region.

Vietnam is building up three major oil refinery hubs in Thanh Hoa and Quang Ngai provinces in the central region, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in the south.

Chinh asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to collaborate with relevant units, including the state-run Petrovietnam, to draft a detailed plan on oil refinery and petrochemical centers for approval.

Besides, the PM asked Quang Ngai to focus on developing VSIP Quang Ngai Industrial Park and Dung Quat Economic Zone, its two growth forces.

He requested the province to boost manufacturing, diversification of products, high-tech production, green transition, innovation, digitalization, and transport infrastructure.

Quang Ngai is emerging as a manufacturing center in central Vietnam, with gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth of 8.08% in 2022.

Vietnam now has two operational oil refineries - Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical complex in Thanh Hoa, and Dung Quat in Quang Ngai.

Petrovietnam has proposed an investment of $1.26 billion to expand Dung Quat's capacity to 171,000 barrels per day or 7.6 million tons a year, from the current figure of 6.5 million tons, subject to prime ministerial approval.

It is expected that the oil and gas giant's subsidiary Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR), operator of Dung Quat, would provide 40% of the investment from its equity, and the remaining 60% from loans.

Nghi Son is a $9-billion refinery co-owned by state-run Petrovietnam, Kuwait Petroleum Europe B.V. (KPE) and Japan’s Mitsui Chemical and Idemitsu Kosan Co.

Thailand-backed Siam Cement Group (SCG) is nearing the completion of its $5.4 billion Long Son Petrochemicals Complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, expecting a full start-up in the first half of 2023. It will be Vietnam’s third operational oil refinery.

In August, Petrovietnam made a proposal to the government on building an oil refinery and national petroleum reserve in the Long Son Petroleum Industrial Park, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, to ensure Vietnam’s oil and gas security.