The UK’s Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Limited ( Foster Wheeler) has been hired to outline a master design for the project to expand and upgrade the Dung Quat oil refinery in the central coastal province of Quang Ngai, which is expected to increase its capacity to 8.5 million tonnes per year.

The Management Board of the project, represented by the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd (BSR), signed the front-end engineering design ( FEED) contract with Foster Wheeler in Hanoi on August 28.

Totalling 25.6 million USD, the contract will be carried out within 15 months, starting from this August.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) Le Manh Hung asked Foster Wheeler to strictly implement articles of the contract, saying he hopes the refinery will be able to operate at peak capacity by applying the most modern technologies and achieve its high competitiveness.

Designed to process 100 percent of crude oil products tapped from the Bach Ho oil field with a capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year, the Dung Quat oil refinery began its commercial operations in May 2010.

The expansion, which is estimated at 1.8 billion USD, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

It aims to help the refinery’s products meet international standards and the EURO 4 and 5 criteria, as well as environmental standards in line with Government regulations.

The BSR currently meets between 30 and 35 percent of the domestic gasoline demand which is predicted to remain unchanged until 2021.

Foster Wheeler is one of the leading design consulting contractors in the world. It has been hired to build master designs for the Dung Quat and Nghi Son oil refineries.

VNA