Vietnam set to become Southeast Asia petrochemicals giant

Vietnam is poised to become a regional leader in oil and petrochemical products with new production facilities in the pipeline and the industry attracting billions more in investment.

The $5.4 billion Long Son petrochemicals complex in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau will start commercial productions this September, CEO Roongrote Rangsiyopash of Thai investor Siam Cement Group (SCG) said in a Reuters report Monday.

Construction of the complex began in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The complex, about two hours’ drive from Ho Chi Minh City, is in the process of testing its operating units. Testing would be completed next month or in August so that commercial operations can start in September or so, he said.

With a total area of about 460 hectares, the complex will produce polyethylene, polypropylene and basic chemicals.

In a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh this February, Rangsiyopash said his group was preparing to implement two projects – upgrading production capacities in the complex and developing the second phase.

He said phase two would use advanced environment-friendly technology and concentrate on the production of high value-added products like an innovative eco-friendly polymer as part of efforts to promote sustainable development.

The second phase will be developed in the same area, benefiting from the existing infrastructure to expand the plants, he said. “Official application submissions will be made on a suitable upcoming occasion.”

Executives of leading Vietnamese gas supplier PV Gas met with SCG counterparts in HCMC early this June to discuss business deals under which the former will supply ethane, propane, and condensate/naphtha to the complex.

The complex needs some 1.6 million tons of gas materials a year, the giant gas supplier said, adding that it was seeking approval from provincial authorities for a project to extract ethane from natural gas for the complex.

Both sides also discussed propane and condensate consumption for the complex, sourced from domestic supplies and PV Gas imports.

Two operational refineries

Vietnam has two operational oil refineries now: the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical complex in Thanh Hoa province; and the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical complex in Quang Ngai province, both in the central region.

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

The other complex, better known as Dung Quat Refinery, is a Petrovietnam subsidiary that has received investments of more than $3 billion. It is the country’s first oil refinery.

The Vietnamese government decided in May to expand Dung Quat’s capacity to 171,000 barrels a day by 2028 from the current 148,000 barrels, with an investment of more than $1.2 billion.

Of the new investment, existing equity will account for $503 million, while the rest will be sourced from external loans. The total is lower than an estimate made in 2014 for Dung Quat’s expansion, which was over $1.8 billion.

The newly-approved project will include: five auxiliary and peripheral workshops with newly patented technologies; a workshop for treating gasoline with hydrogen; another for treating diesel with hydrogen; an alkylation workshop; a hydrogen production workshop; and a sulfur recovery workshop.

The expansion will also include a water treatment facility and an amine regeneration unit. In addition, the project will upgrade technologies.

$1.5 billion plant under construction

In addition to the three oil refineries, Hanoi-based multinational group Stavian is investing $1.5 billion in a polypropylene production facility in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

The 600,000 ton-per-year Stavian Quang Yen petrochemical plant is expected to go on stream by 2026. A propane dehydrogenation unit is also planned as part of the project.

Last November, Stavian announced that it would obtain technology licenses from Honeywell UOP of the U.S. and Italy’s Basell Poliolefine Italia for its PP production.

Honeywell UOP and Basell Poliolefine Italia are among the world's leading suppliers of advanced technologies, Stavian said, adding that the plant would be equipped with a high-tech, automated and eco-friendly production line imported from Europe.

Stavian is already a leading plastics distributor in Vietnam and operates distribution offices in the U.S., South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, China, and India, according to its website.

National reserve project

State-run Petrovietnam proposed last August that the government invests in an integrated petrochemical and refinery complex with oil storage facilities in the Long Son oil and gas industrial park, home to SCG’s Long Son petrochemicals complex.

Under the proposal, the $19 billion national project would comprise two parts - a petrochemical and refinery facility and a project to build a national storage facility for crude oil and petrol products.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has backed the proposal, saying it would ensure the country’s oil and gas security.

The two operational refineries can provide about 14 million tons of petroleum products annually, meeting about 70% of Vietnam’s present demand, according to the ministry. Meanwhile, the current domestic supply of polypropylene and polyethylene plastics totals 2.55 million tons, about half the nation’s demand.