Vietnam's Nghi Son refinery to import its first Kuwaiti crude cargo

Vietnam's Nghi Son refinery to import its first Kuwaiti crude cargo

Vietnam's Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC (NSRP), the owner of the
country's second oil refinery, has chartered a supertanker to carry crude
from Kuwait in a sign that the behind-schedule project may soon begin
startup operations.

The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Millennium has been chartered by NSRP to
load up to 270 Mt of crude oil from Kuwait's Mina Al Ahmadi port on Aug. 1
for delivery into Vietnam, according to fixtures reported by multiple
shipbrokers including Meiwa International and smartphone application VLCC
Fixtures by Tankers International.

NSRP and Kuwait Petroleum Corp did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.

The $9 B refinery was initially scheduled for commercial startup in the
third quarter of this year but issues with a mechanical test on some of the
refinery's components set back test runs at the plant, according to a notice
on a government website.

NSRP told Reuters in May it expects to start commercial operations by the
end of December and will receive its first cargo in August.

The 200,000-bpd plant will process Kuwaiti crude oil to produce liquefied
petroleum gases, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, mainly for the
domestic markets.

Kuwait Petroleum International and Japan's Idemitsu Kosan each own 35.1% of
NSRP, while PetroVietnam holds a 25.1% stake and Mitsui Chemicals 4.7%.

Vietnam's existing 140,000 bpd Dung Quat refinery meets about 30% of
domestic demand.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2017/07/vietnams-nghi-son-refinery
-to-import-its-first-kuwaiti-crude-cargo

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com