World’s No. 1 oil firm Aramco eyes petrochemical plant in Vietnam

State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Group, or Aramco – the world’s largest oil producer, has expressed interest in building a petrochemical plant in Vietnam, which has been a net energy importer for years.

Executive vice president of Aramco Yasser M.Mufti revealed the firm’s intention at a Thursday meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who was in Saudi Arabia to attend the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit.

Aramco, which is active in Asia-Pacific, provides crude oil for companies in Vietnam but has yet to initiate a direct investment in the Southeast Asian country, Yasser M.Mufti said.

He asked the Vietnamese government to help Aramco expand its operations to the country, firstly permitting the group’s technical team to survey the market.

Welcoming Aramco’s intention to invest in Vietnam’s oil and gas sector, the Vietnamese prime minister proposed the oil giant invest in the country’s major petrochemical projects and support workforce training in this field.

He also suggested cooperating in the trade of oil, gas, and petrochemical products such as crude oil, liquefied gas, plastic materials, and fertilizer.

Chinh asked Aramco to allow state-run Petrovietnam to join it in supplying oil and gas services in Saudi Arabia, and seek large projects for collaboration.

Saudi Aramco was established in 1933 and began its first commercial oil production in 1938. The giant earned a record high profit of $161 billion in 2022, up 46% from a year earlier.

Vietnam now has two operational oil refineries, Nghi Son and Dung Quat, both in the central region, meeting over 60% of domestic fuel demand.

The third project is the Long Son Petrochemicals Complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Thailand's The Siam Cement Group (SCG) started construction of the $5.4 billion facility in the fourth quarter of 2018. The project is nearly complete and is ready to churn out first products this year.