Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) hosted a press conference in August 3, 2017 to announce the first shipment of crude to the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex in Vietnam, in preparation for the start of operations. Waleed Al-Bader, Deputy Managing Director for Crude and Derivatives Marketing at KPC, and Ghanim Al-Otaibi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Asia at Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) spoke during the press conference.
The shipment carries two million barrels and is expected to reach the refinery in August 19th, Al-Bader said, adding that an additional two million barrels are set to be shipped in August 11th.
A shipment carrying four million barrels will be sent to the refinery in September, he said, adding that six more shipments carrying 12 million barrels will be sent to Vietnam during the fourth quarter of this year. The refinery has a processing capacity of around 200,000 barrels of Kuwaiti crude a day, he noted.
The refinery was established in Nghi Son, which is located around 200 kilometers south of Hanoi, Al-Bader said. It was designed to process Kuwaiti crude by 100%, with a capacity of up to 200,000 barrels a day. The project started in July 2013 and was completed in 43 months, he noted.
The refinery targets improving Kuwait's oil relations with Vietnam and other global partners, Al-Otaibi said, adding that the project is one of the most important oil projects that embody the vision of KPC and its subsidiaries to reach a leading global position in the downstream industry and marketing.
The refinery and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam, which is affiliated with KPI, will realize KPC's strategic goals and provide a safe long-term outlet for the Kuwaiti crude, he added.
Meanwhile, Al-Otaibi applauded the role of Kuwaiti young people working in the project, and their contributions which helped push progress forward. He indicated that safe operation for all producing units to achieve maximum capacity and commercial operation as soon as possible is currently the most prominent challenge, noting that KPC started retail marketing inside Vietnam with strategic partners through five stations that were built as part of a retail stations' network to cover the local market's demand. Al-Otaibi said that he is looking forward for long-term partnerships with other global companies similar to the Vietnam refinery project.
Notably, a joint company was established as the owner of the refinery and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam, where KPI owns a 35.1% share, Japan's Idemitsu Kosan owns a 35.1% share, PetroVietnam owns a 25.1% share and Japan's Mitsui owns a 4.7% share.