Kuwait Petroleum International (Q8) will start the execution of a mega joint venture to build a refinery and petrochemical complex in Vietnam in 2014, said Q8 Chief Executive Officer Bakheet Al-Rashidi Thursday.
The project has reached an advanced stage with regard to the engineering and supplying operations, he told KUNA, expecting that production will begin in mid-2016. Al-Rahsidi, who is accompanying His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah during his current visit to China, said that negotiations over participation in the project were tackled during His Highness the PM talks with Chinese officials.
He pointed out that total cost of the project could be precisely determined currently.
But, it would be in the rage of USD 7-9 billion, Al-Rashidi said.
The Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, a joint venture between Q8, PetroVietnam and Japanese companies Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Chemicals, will be located in Thanh Hoa Province in North Vietnam, around 200 kilometers south of Hanoi.
As Vietnam's largest oil refinery, it is expected to contribute more than 30 percent of Vietnam's demand for petroleum products. Although Vietnam is Southeast Asia's third-largest producer of crude oil, its limited number of refineries has led to an almost total reliance on imported oil products.
The new refinery will include a petrochemical complex, energy facilities, and pipeline and storage facilities. It will produce products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel for the local Vietnamese market, together with other products for sale in neighboring countries.
The Q8's parent company, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has committed to providing 100 percent Kuwaiti crude oil for the refinery, which will have a refining capacity of 200,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 10 million tons of crude oil