HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s largest oil project just took a significant step towards providing products for domestic and foreign markets.

On Tuesday, Thanh Hóa Province’s Nghi Sơn petrochemical refinery company received its first batch of crude oil from Kuwait. The 270,000 tonnes of oil will be used to prepare for the refinery’s trial run.

According to Nguyễn Văn Thi, head of the management board of Nghi Sơn Economic Zone where the refinery is located, the reception of the first batch of crude oil means the factory is closer to being ready to provide petrochemical and refined products for domestic consumption and export.

The Nghi Sơn Refinery is currently the largest oil project in the country with investment totalling US$9.2 billion. When in operation, it will have a refining capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil per year. The refinery is expected to strengthen Việt Nam’s national energy security.

The crude oil shipment received Tuesday was to be pumped from the oil tanker Millennium to a facility called Single Point Mooring Buoy. It is then transported through underwater pipes to three of the eight storage tanks, each of which can hold up to 112,000 cubic metres.

With a maximum capacity of 15,000 cubic metres per hour, it will take about 22 to 24 hours to pump the entire 270,000 tonnes of crude oil from the vessel to the refinery’s storage facilities.

Receiving the Millennium marked another milestone for the Nghi Sơn seaport: with a maximum capacity of 300,000 tonnes of crude oil, the ship is the largest crude oil vessel ever to dock in Việt Nam.

The refinery’s latest achievements come after mechanical completion was achieved in April. The plant was transferred from the contractor, a consortium of JGC Corporation, Chiyoda Corporation, Technip, SK Group and GS Group, to the operator, Nghi Sơn Refinery JSC, in May.

According to current plans, the factory will receive oil from three large-range oil tankers every month when it begins commercial operation. — VNS