Thai oil and gas group PTT has asked Viet Nam's south central province of Binh Dinh to reschedule feasibility study reports of a US$27 billion oil refinery plant to July.

Vietnam News Agency's bureau in Binh Dinh sourced that the rescheduling by one month was done to allot time for the group to gain personnel approvals from Thailand's new government. The sources also confirmed that the local authority appeared confident that PTT was determined to carry out the mega project in Nhon Hoi Economic Zone.

According to Reuters and Nikkei Asian, PTT, 51 per cent owned by Thailand's finance ministry, now requires permission for state-related projects. Shares in PTT, which has the largest market capitalisation on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, have been slumping since the military took control of the government on May 22, shedding more than 4 per cent even as the benchmark SET index has advanced 3.7 per cent.

Once PTT obtains approval and all study procedures are completed, the group will report on the project feasibility. Binh Dinh Province and other relevant ministries will submit the project to Viet Nam's prime minister in July. Its construction is expected to begin in 2016 and production in 2019, with an estimated capacity of 33 million tonnes, one of the largest in the world.

Industry experts reported that the grant project, called Nhon Hoi Petrochemical Complex Project, may sell 50 per cent of the products to the regional market and the remaining will be shipped back to Thailand.

Viet Nam now has a sole oil refinery Dung Quat in the central province of Quang Ngai, with an output of 130,000 barrels per day. Dung Quat plant started commercial production in 2009 and has satisfied one-third of the domestic demand. Excluding several brief closures due to technical problems, the plant was shut down for the second major maintenance in May and production will resume in July.

Russian group to buy stake in Vietnamese refinery

The Russian oil and gas group, Gazprom Neft is set to acquire 49 per cent stake in Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR), which operates the Dung Quat refinery.

According to the deal recently struck by directors of the two groups, Gazprom Neft will also join a project to upgrade and expand the Dung Quat refinery, situated in the central province of Quang Ngai.

This aims to increase the plant's production capacity to around 10 million tonnes per year from the current 6.5 million tonnes.

Both sides agreed on the optimal processing technology to use and crude oil sources to chase in order to realise the target.

Since launching operations in 2009, the Dung Quat Oil Refinery, the first of its kind in Viet Nam, has sold 26.7 million tonnes of products, raking in VND543 trillion (US$25.5 billion) in revenue.

In 2013, it produced 6.6 million tonnes, 17 per cent higher than its set target, and gained over VND154 trillion ($7.3 billion) in revenue and VND2.9 trillion ($138 million) in profit.

This year, the BSR is striving to earn VND113.6 trillion ($5.3 billion) from trading 5.18 million tonnes of products.

VNS/VNN