Plans accelerated for refinery projects
The State Steering Committee on Key Oil and Gas Projects yesterday reviewed their work concerning the first oil refinery in Dung Quat and other projects, and developed plans and timelines for their completion.
The national petroleum group was assigned to take measures to effectively manage and operate the US$3 billion Dung Quat Oil Refinery. The ministries of Construction and Finance were asked to help with measures to quickly reach a balanced budget. The committee asked provincial authorities in Quang Ngai to focus on management support for resettlement and compensation.
The Dung Quat refinery has a designed capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually, or more than 140,000 barrels per day. Capacity is expected to expand to 10 million tonnes per year by 2013-14.
The refinery project began in the 1980s and came into operation in early 2009. As of last month, the refinery is operating at its full designated capacity. More than 5.7 million tonnes of crude oil have been imported for the refinery to produce 4.98 million tonnes of high-quality products.
However, investors and contractors still had to work to fix technical problems and strike a balanced budget, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, who chaired the meeting.
The meeting yesterday also discussed measures to complete the investment mechanism for the Nghi Son Petrochemical Refinery in Tinh Gia District, central Thanh Hoa Province. The procedures for ground clearance and infrastructure construction are also being sped up for the project.
Construction of Nghi Son Refinery, Viet Nam’s second planned refinery, is expected to start this year and become operational by 2013. More than 90 per cent of the required area for the $6 billion project have been cleared. Authorised bodies are conducting the necessary negotiations and evaluating the project’s environmental impact report.
The refinery has a designed capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil per year with possibility to expand to 20 million tonnes.
Preparation activities for initial investment in the Southern Petrochemical Refinery complex, the third of its kind in the country, were also discussed yesterday. The national steering committee asked relevant bodies to boost their management of completed projects and to review completion plans for others. — VNS
Tags: Vietnam Refinery