The Dung Quất refinery is an
oil refinery in
Quảng Ngãi Province,
Vietnam. It is the first oil refinery in Vietnam.
History
The refinery project started already in 1980s. The refinery was planned to be construct near the port of
Vũng Tàu, just away from the offshore oil fields. In 1988, the clearance of the construction site from unexploded wartime ordnance was started. However, in 1991 the refinery project was shelved. In the early 1990s,
Total S.A. expressed interest to the project. At the same time the Vietnamese government suggested to move the site to Van Phong bay, north of
Nha Trang, and later further north to Dung Quat. Followed this, in 1995 Total SA pulled out, claiming that the new site made no economic sense. Total was replaced with a consortium of foreign investors, including
LG Group
LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is ...
and
Petronas
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...
, but also this consortium withdraw two years later.
In 1998, the establishment of
VietRoss, a joint venture of Vietnam and
Russia, was decided. The intergovernmental agreement on the construction and operation of the refinery was signed on 25 August 1998. The Front End Engineering Design (FEED) Contract was signed between
PetroVietnam,
Zarubezhneft
JSC Zarubezhneft (russian: Зарубежнефть) is a Russian state-controlled oil company based in Moscow that specializes in exploration, development and operation of oil and gas fields outside Russian territory. Sergei Kudryashov is the co ...
and
Foster Wheeler Energy.
[
] The Dung Quat Refinery was originally scheduled to start work in 2000, but the process was several times delayed.
[
] On 25 December 2002, the intergovernmental agreement between Vietnam and Russia was terminated, and the project continued as a solo project of Petrovietnam.
[
On 24 October 2003, the project management consultancy services contract was signed with ]Stone & Webster
Stone & Webster was an American engineering services company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles A. Stone and Edwin S. Webster in 1889. In the early ...
, and on 27 February 2004 the contract for front end engineering design (FEED) development was signed with Technip
Technip S.A. was a company that carried out project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry; in 2017 it completed a merger with FMC Technologies to form TechnipFMC. Its headquarters were in the 16th arrondissement of Pa ...
.[ The construction started on 28 November 2005.][
] The refinery was inaugurated by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng on 22 February 2009.[
] In the same year, industrial gross output in Quang Ngai Province increased by 144.7% and the share of industry in the province's GDP surged from 36.2% in 2008 to 46.3% in 2009.[Binh Dinh Statistics Office (2010): Binh Dinh Statistical Yearbook 2009. Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi]
On 16 August 2009, refinery's operations were suspended due to a "technical repair" in the residue fluid catalytic cracking unit. The unit was expected to be repaired by 9–10 September 2009.[
]
Technical features
Dung Quat refinery has a designed capacity of 6.5 million tons of crude oil annually, or . The capacity would be expanded to 10 million tons per year by 2013–2014.[
] In addition to fuels, the refinery will also produce petro-chemical products.[
] The refinery complex area comprises:
*Overall Refinery Process, Utility and Offsites Facilities: about 110 ha;
*Crude Tank Farm and Flare Area: about 42 ha;
*Product Tank Farm: about 36 ha;
*Seawater intake, Waste Water and Crude Oil Pipelines: about 4 ha;
*Interconnecting Pipelines, road and right of Way: about 40 ha;
*Product Harbor Service Area: about 135 ha.[
Main contractors of the refinery were ]Technip
Technip S.A. was a company that carried out project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry; in 2017 it completed a merger with FMC Technologies to form TechnipFMC. Its headquarters were in the 16th arrondissement of Pa ...
, JGC Corporation
JGC Holdings Corporation, formerly , and before that , is a global engineering company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.
The company was founded on 25 October 1928. In 1976, it changed its original name from Japan Gasoline Co. to JGC Corp. In ...
, and Técnicas Reunidas.[
] The refinery cost US$3 billion, up from $2.5 billion previously and more than double an original cost estimate of about $1.4 billion in 1994. It may need another $1 billion to build a desulphurising unit targeted for 2013.[
]
Source of supply
The refinery is outfitted to process oil from Bạch Hổ oil field
The Bạch Hổ oil field (White Tiger oilfield) is a major oil field in the Cuu Long basin of the East Sea located offshore due east of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The field contains major reserves hosted within highly fractured granitic basem ...
, which is expected to run dry before 2020. Petrovietnam has a preliminary agreement with BP for supplies of similar quality to use exclusively until 2011.[
]
Ownership
The refinery is owned and operated by Petrovietnam. Petrovietnam negotiates with foreign oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, Essar Group
Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil a ...
and SK Energy
SK Innovation Co., Ltd. () is an intermediate holding company of SK Group engaged in petroleum, alternative energy, and oil exploration. It runs its business through eight major subsidiaries, including SK Energy, SK Geo Centric, SK On, SK Enmove, ...
, to upgrade and sell part of the refinery.[
]
Controversy
Critics of the project claim that the refinery is non-feasible, and the location is chosen for political, not economical reasons, as most of oil comes from offshore fields in Southern Vietnam.[
]
See also
* Nghi Sơn Refinery
Nghi Son Refinery is the second planned oil refinery in Vietnam. It would be located about south of Hanoi in Tinh Gia District of Thanh Hóa Province. Site-clearing for the project broke ground in 2008. Construction began on 23 October 2013, ...
* Long Son Refinery Long Son Petrochemicals Complex is an integrated petroleum and chemical complex being constructed in Long Son Island of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province
Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu ) is a province of Vietnam. It is located on the coast of the countr ...
References
External links
Hoian to Dung Quat oil refinery by carDung Quat Economic Zone Authority website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dung Quat Refinery
Oil refineries in Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Quảng Ngãi province
JGC Corporation