PetroVietnam suspends operations at Dung Quat bio-ethanol plant
A casualty of low crude oil prices, Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) announced that it has suspended operations at its Dung Quat bio-ethanol plant, one of three bio-ethanol projects developed by the state-owned oil and gas company to support the government’s biofuels program.
PetroVietnam Central Biofuels (BSR-BF) was established by three PetroVietnam subsidiaries– PetroVietnam Central Biofuels Joint Stock Co. ((Petrosetco), Binh Son Oil Refinery and PetroVietnam Finance Co. (PVFC). The Dung Quat bio-ethanol plant located in Quảng Ngã province, Vietnam, was designed to produce 100 million litres of ethanol a year, using first-generation technology with cassava as feedstock. Investment in the plant was VND 2.219 trillion (EUR 97.9 million).
PetroVietnam has investments in two other biofuel plants through PV Oil, another PetroVietnam subsidiary: PetroVietnam Biofuels (PVB) and Orient Bio Fuel Company (OBF).