Published 10 September 2014

Vietnam has begun construction of Vung Ro oil refinery and petrochemical project in Southern Phu Yen province, approximately 950km south of Hanoi.

The project, which has an investment of nearly $3.2bn, will have a capacity of 8 million tons per year, and cover an area of 538h, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Scheduled to enter service in 2017, the refinery complex would support the industry while providing more jobs for local residents.

Phu Yen's largest FDI project, the Vung Ro is the third refinery in Vietnam after the petrochemical refinery complexes of Dung Quat in central provinces of Quang Ngai and and Nghi Son in Thanh Hoa.

The Nghi Son complex construction began in October 2013 with an investment of $9bn and will have a refining capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, or 10 million tons per year, upon completion in 2017.

Vietnam's first refinery, Dung Quat, entered service in 2009.

Vietnam anticipates that the petroleum products demand would reach 27 million tons per year by 2025.

From its current output of 6.5 million tons, Dung Quat intends to increase its output to 10 million tons per year by 2015, as part of the nation's efforts to meet the growing energy needs.

Once operational, Vung Ro oil refinery will create about 1,300 jobs and would contribute approxilamtly $111m to the state budget per annum, Xinhua News Agency reports.

Image: Vietnam expects the petroleum products demand would reach 27 million tons per year by 2025. Photo: courtesy of kongsky/Freedigitalphotos.net.

Source: Energy Bussiness Review