Building contract for Dung Quat oil refinery to be signed in 2004
HA NOI — Viet Nam Oil and Gas Corporation should sign an engineering, procurement and construction contract in mid-2004 with an Italian firm to build Dung Quat Oil Refinery No 1, said the corporation’s chairman.
Pham Quang Du said there was a construction delay, because the corporation wanted to change the products the refinery would produce. The product list, which included petroleum A83 and industrial diesel, was inappropriate. The corporation would readjust the list to stay in line with the Government’s requirements, he said.
Du said the goal of the adjustment was to make the plant’s products more efficient and competitive when Viet Nam joins the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2006.
He said he hoped Britain’s Stone & Webster would help the corporation appraise the contract’s particulars so construction could begin on the plant as soon as possible.
The project would cost about US$1.5 billion. The Government planned to spend $800 million from crude oil sales rather than the $600 million it earmarked in 1997. Domestic banks and bond issues would cover the remaining costs, said Du.
The corporation recently issued VND300 billion ($19.3 million) in bonds. It asked the Government for permission to continue issuing bonds for the second phase at home and abroad. — VNS