Vietnam signs $11b deal to build oil refinery complex
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Buy SPH photosHANOI - Vietnam on Sunday inked a deal with firms from Japan and Kuwait to build an oil refinery complex worth nearly US$9 billion (S$11 billion) as part of its efforts to meet its growing energy needs.
The Nghi Son refinery, which is due to start operating by 2017 in Thanh Hoa province, about 200km south of Hanoi, will turn Kuwaiti oil into petrol and other petroleum products. It will be able to process 10 million tonnes of crude oil a year.
State-owned PetroVietnam will own a 25.1 per cent stake in the joint venture, while Japan's Idemitsu Kosan and Kuwait Petroleum International will each hold 35.1 per cent. Mitsui Chemicals of Japan will own the remaining 4.7 per cent.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung hailed the project as "very important" for the communist country's economic and social development.
