PTT suspends “Victory Project” as partner Saudi Aramco pulls out

Thailand’s PTT Pcl has postponed its plan to build a USD 20 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Vietnam. The complex, dubbed the Victory Project, includes a 400,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery and an olefins and aromatic petrochemical plant with an annual output of five million tonnes.

PTT and project co-sponsor Saudi Aramco have sought for a capable Vietnamese company to be a partner of the project, but it has not been successful so far. Without participation of a capable Vietnamese partner, Saudi Aramco has decided to withdraw from further development of the Victory Project, PTT announced.

In 2014, PTT and Saudi Aramco jointly submitted the Project Detailed Feasibility Study to the government of Vietnam. The plan was for PTT and Saudi Aramco to each own a 40% stake in the project, while the Vietnamese government will take a minority stake of 20%.

PTT had originally planned to start construction of the refinery to be located in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam, in Binh Dinh province’s Nhon Hoi economic zone, this year.

PTT said it still views Vietnam as a strategic location for investment. Thus, PTT said it will continue to develop the project by transferring it to IRPC Public Company Limited (IRPC) for further study and implementation, as IRPC has experience and expertise in refinery and petrochemical operations.

As a shareholder, PTT will support IRPC’s decisions on this project, such as project size, scope of investment and potential partner, PTT announced in its website.