Gazprom Neft makes bid to upgrade Dung Quat refinery in Vietnam
By VU TRONG KHANH
HANOI -- OAO Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian state-controlled gas giant OAO Gazprom, is seeking to join a project to upgrade Vietnam's Dung Quat refinery, Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment said Thursday.
Gazprom Neft executives told Minister of Planning and Investment, Bui Quang Vinh, at a meeting in Hanoi Thursday that the company has experience in modernizing and expanding refineries not only in Russia but also in other countries.
Mr. Vinh said Vietnam supports Gazprom Neft's bid to participate in the Dung Quat project, adding that the company needs to commit to supplying crude oil for the refinery.
The 130,000-bpd Dung Quat refinery, which became operational in 2009, was designed to process sweet crude oil from Bach Ho field offshore Vietnam.
Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, the owner of the refinery, is planning to upgrade the refinery so that it can process other types of crude oil, given that output from Bach Ho has been declining over the recent years.
It had also said earlier it planned to sell a 49% stake in the refinery to foreign investors and use the proceeds to expand capacity to 200,000 bpd.
Dow Jones Newswires
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