Prime Minister presses button to put Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Plant into commercial operation

This afternoon, December 23, at Nghi Son Economic Zone (Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa), Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited (NSRP) and Thanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee held the ceremony “Inauguration and Commercial Operation of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex”. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ; former Presidents Tran Duc Luong and Truong Tan Sang; former Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung, Politburo member, Standing member of the Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong… along with leaders of central ministries, branches and many international guests attended the ceremony.

Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex Project was granted an investment registration certificate by Nghi Son Economic Zone Management Board (Thanh Hoa) in April 2018 with a total registered investment capital of 9.3 billion USD, on an area of ​​395.62 hectares onshore and 913.7 hectares of water surface. This is a joint venture project between 4 partners, including: Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group , Idemitsu Kosan Company, Mitsui Chemical Company (Japan) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation . The plant has a phase 1 capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil/day, equivalent to 10 million tons of crude oil/year.

The project started in October 2013, and by April 2017, the factory had completed mechanical construction, reaching the milestone of being ready to start the factory on February 28, 2018. In June 2018, all technological workshops were successfully started according to the process, the factory produced the first commercial products , including RON 92, RON 95 gasoline and Diesel oil, ready to go into stable commercial operation.

After the trial run, on December 14, 2018, NSRP completed the initial acceptance. This is an important milestone for the plant to move to the commercial operation phase. Currently, NSRP has recruited enough personnel to operate the plant with a total of 1,327 employees, including 204 foreign workers. It is expected that in 2019, the plant will operate at about 80% of its design capacity.

Mr. Shintaro Ishida – General Director of NSRP said that since its establishment, NSRP has made great contributions to the Vietnamese economy through the use of goods and services worth more than 2 billion USD. During the construction phase, tens of thousands of people participated in the construction of the project and during the operation phase, NSRP will employ more than 1,327 workers, including technical and management positions, most of whom are Vietnamese.
Mr. Tinh Van Chien, Secretary of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, assessed that Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical project contributes to ensuring national energy security, meeting 40% of domestic petroleum demand, creating basic conditions for post-refinery and service industries to develop; increasing budget revenue, creating many jobs and contributing greatly to the economic and social growth of Thanh Hoa Province in particular and the whole country. In 2018 alone, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical contributed to the budget of over 8,000 billion VND, bringing the total budget revenue of Thanh Hoa Province to 23,000 billion VND (the highest ever).

The Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Project is a factor promoting the increase in the number of enterprises investing in Nghi Son Economic Zone; promoting service development; creating jobs for local workers, at the peak period, the project site employed up to 30,000 workers (most of whom were local workers performing the contractor’s work); creating opportunities for enterprises in the province to develop; creating changes in infrastructure to help Thanh Hoa in general and Nghi Son Economic Zone have a competitive advantage in attracting investment.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex project is a beautiful symbol of practical and effective international cooperation. With the special support of the Governments of Vietnam, Japan, Kuwait and important partners, the economic, trade and investment cooperation relations with Vietnam are extensive.

The Prime Minister stated that the commercial operation of the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex Project has important political, socio-economic, security and defense significance in the process of national development, contributing to ensuring national energy security. “I request Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Limited Liability Company (NSRP) to continue promoting the achieved results, to manage and operate well so that the plant operates safely and stably, ensuring the quality of output products, and to avoid technical errors arising during operation. It is necessary to fully comply with environmental protection regulations as well as complete construction acceptance procedures in accordance with Vietnamese law,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
The Prime Minister also requested Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, Nghi Son Economic Zone Management Board, and NSRP to jointly continue to take care of solving jobs and living conditions for local people, especially those who have to resettle to new places, and hand over the site for the construction of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex.

Ngoc Minh (thanhnien.vn)