Laos: Construction of Petroleum Refinery to Resume This Month

Laos: Construction of Petroleum Refinery to Resume This Month

A petroleum refinery project located in the energy and chemical precinct of
Saysettha Development Zone, Vientiane is expected to resume this month after
construction was halted for about six months.

The refinery project began in 2015 under Laos-China Dongyan Petrochemical
Co., Ltd. (LCPC).

Under the project, Yunnan Dongyan Industrial Co., Ltd holds a 75 percent
share, while 20 percent is held by Lao State Fuel Company and the other 5
percent by Lao-China Joint Investment Co., Ltd.

At present, work on the project was about 35 percent complete with
construction to be finished in November next year, Deputy General Manager of
the Lao-China Joint Venture Investment Co., Ltd., Mr Kiengkham
Phoutchantavongsa, told Vientiane Times during a visit to the zone recently.

He cited a change in shareholders leading to a halt in the project.

The petroleum refinery project will cover an area of over 280,000 square
metres with total investment of about US$179 million.

The refinery would use low grade mixed light oil as raw material and adopt
advanced technologies to produce gasoline, diesel, LPG, purified petroleum
benzene, sulphur and other petroleum based products, according to
information provided by LCPC.

Production capacity of standard gasoline would be 300,000 tonnes per annum
and 500,000 tonnes of diesel per year.

In addition it will also produce 18,000 tonnes per annum of liquefied
petroleum gas, 12,600 tonnes per year of benzene and 5,000 tonnes per annum
of industrial-grade sulphur.

Once operational the refinery would become among the nation's largest
industrial enterprises and be able to supply about 65 percent of fuel in
Laos, Mr Kiengkham said.

He added the project would also include construction of a petroleum products
storage facility with a capacity of 60 million litres.

At present, the oil warehouses of the Lao State Fuel Company around the
country contain only 40 million litres.

Saysettha Development Zone was established in 2010 with the aim of
developing an eco-industrial city.

About 35 Chinese and foreign companies have already moved into the zone,
with an aggregate investment of about US$350 million.

According to the company, in the first phase the zone will mainly develop
industry, focusing on the processing of agricultural and other primary
products like hardware, building materials and machinery .

The zone will also support the technological innovation and entrepreneurship
of small and medium enterprises.

In the second phase from 2016-2020 and the third phase from 2020-2030, the
zone will mainly develop commerce and trade along with a focus on building a
new part of Vientiane.

The zone expected to spend about US$650 million on infrastructure investment
over three phases, on about 1,149 hectares of land, according to the
company's development plan.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.laotiantimes.com/2016/12/19/construction-petroleum-refinery-resum
e-month/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com