Vietnam firm to construct US$6.2 billion oil refinery

Vietnam has issued license to the development of an oil refinery with annual capacity of two million tons of crude oil in Southern Can Tho city and an investment of US$538 million, a local official told Xinhua. The project’s developer, Can Tho Oil Refinery Company Ltd. — a joint venture between a Vietnamese firm and a U.S. partner, is expected to start the construction of the oil refinery, whose products include petroleum, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel oil and naphtha, in the city this year, said Bui Ngoc Vi, chairperson of the Economic Bureau under the Can Tho People’s Committee. To feed the refinery, Can Tho Oil Refinery Company will mainly use crude oil exploited in Vietnam, and import a small amount of the material, she noted. Nghi Son has initial investment of US$6.2 billion and annual capacity of 10 million tons of crude oil, and Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first refinery with an annual processing capacity of 6.5 million tons, will become operational early next year. (May 23, 2008)