Vietnam Refinery Plan Moves Forward

A consortium of companies from Japan, Kuwait, and Vietnam is planning to start work soon on Vietnam’s first foreign-owned refinery and petrochemical complex. The long-talked-about project will unite Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan and Kuwait Petroleum, each with a 35% stake in the venture; PetroVietnam with a 25% stake; and Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals with a 5% interest. Located in the Nghi Son economic zone in the north of the country, the $9 billion complex will process Kuwaiti crude into a range of fuels and basic petrochemical materials including benzene and polypropylene. Mitsui plans to be a buyer of the aromatics produced and will use them to feed its phenol and purified terephthalic acid plants. The companies envisage putting together a financing package this summer. At that point, construction would get under way and possibly be completed in late 2016.