Thailand’s SCG seeks cooperation with Petrovietnam for Long Son Petrochemicals Complex expansion

Siam Cement Group (SCG) is seeking cooperation with state-owned Petrovietnam for the expansion of the former’s $5.2 billion Long Son Petrochemicals Complex (LSP) in Vietnam’s southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

SCG president and CEO Thammasak Sethaudom made the statement at a Tuesday meeting with Petrovietnam chairman Le Manh Hung.

For his part, Le Manh Hung said Petrovietnam is willing to collaborate with SCG regarding the LSP, including input material supply, maintenance-repair, and expansion.

SCG specializes in cement and construction materials, packaging, and petrochemical products. It runs 27 subsidiaries in Vietnam, with a total investment exceeding $7 billion.

The $5.2 billion LSP is SCG’s biggest investment in Vietnam. It commenced land preparations for Long Son Petrochemicals Complex in 2018, started up all utilities in 2022, and conducted a full complex test run in December 2023.

LSP began its commercial operation (COD) on September 30, with an initial production output of 74,000 tons during the trial phase. At full capacity, the complex’s annual output will include 1.4 million tons of polyethylene and polypropylene.

In October, SCG said it would invest an extra $700 million in LSP to diversify its production.

Earlier this week, at a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Thammasak Sethaudom said SCG aims to seek leading global tech partners to jointly invest in LSP.

At a working session with Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha in October, SCG said the unfavorable global market had caused production costs to outnumber selling prices and supply to exceed demand.

“The LSP plant has temporarily halted operations to manage overall business costs, with plans to reassess operations when conditions are more favorable,” it added.

The LSP is “closely monitoring” the market situation and will adjust the run rate of its operation during this challenging period for petrochemical business, the company noted.