PetroVietnam, Idemitsu, Kuwait form oil venture

Vietnam Oil & Gas Group won approval from the government to set up a joint venture with Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. to sell petroleum products from Nghi Son oil refinery, according to Tran Thi Binh, deputy chief executive officer of the Vietnamese oil producer. The government “approved in principle” the project and instructed Vietnam Oil & Gas, known as PetroVietnam, to hold at least a 51% stake, according to a statement on the government website. Idemitsu Kosan, Japan’s second-biggest refiner, and Kuwait Petroleum in April 2008 joined PetroVietnam to build the 200,000 barrel-a-day Nghi Son refinery. Idemitsu and Kuwait Petroleum each have a 35.1% stake in the construction project, while PetroVietnam holds 25.1% and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. has 4.7%. The Nghi Son refinery, which may open in 2014, will be Vietnam’s second, after PetroVietnam’s Dung Quat refinery started operations in February 2009, with a capacity of 6.5 million metric tons. (November 29, 2010)