Vietnam’s first oil refinery operates at full capacity

Vietnam’s first oil refinery, Dung Quat, has operated at full capacity after it resumed operations on January 14. The plant, located in the central province of Quang Ngai, was shut down on December 22, 2009, to replace a valve in its residual fluid catalytic cracking unit. The US$3.054-billion plant targets to buy 5.2 million tons of crude oil, produce 4.75 million tons of products this year. Last year, the Dung Quat plant produced a total of 1.5 million tons of products, supplied 1.4 million tons of products to the domestic market, earning revenues of 21.5 trillion dong (US$1.6 billion). The Dung Quat plant has a capacity to refine 6.5 million tons of crude oil a year, which will meet 30% of the country’s total demand. (January 22, 2010)