VNBusinessNews – Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai worked with the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Project Management Unit (PMU) on February 21 to put final touches to an inauguration ceremony for the refinery scheduled for February 22 at 7pm.

Mr Hai praised the PMU, contractors, consultants, engineers and workers for their enormous efforts to complete the project on time. He also acknowledged the efforts of sub-contractors such as the Viet Nam Machinery Erection Corporation (LILAMA) and the Petroleum Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) in training engineers capable of running the refinery in the long run.

“We have already trained a contingent of competent engineers who are working with foreign specialists to run the refinery. They will help Vietnam master state-of-the-art technology for the future,” said Mr Hai.

He asked engineers and workers to rise to the responsibility and stick to working regulations to ensure the refinery operates without any incidents.

The PMU reported that 99.5% of the work had been completed and the refinery is undergoing a test run using 75% of its capacity. The PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) has supplied 160,000 tonnes of crude oil to the refinery for the test run.

The Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (PVN) has worked with the French contractor Technip to ensure the smooth pumping process at the gasoline blending pool.

The fire prevention department under the Ministry of Public Security and the Quang Ngai provincial police have drawn up security plans for the inauguration ceremony.

“Over the past months, we have inspected the refinery’s fire prevention system, especially at the site where the inauguration ceremony will take place. We are determined to ensure safety and security for the event,” says Vu Xuan Hoa, an official of the fire prevention department.

The refinery is scheduled to produce kerosene and diesel in February and petrol in April. It will raise its capacity to 70% in June and 100% in August and will be handed over to Viet Nam in October 2009.

When the refinery operates at full capacity, it will produce nearly 150,000 tonnes of petrol, 240,000 tonnes of diesel, 23,000 tonnes of LPG, 30,000 tonnes of aeroplane fuel and 25,000 tonnes of FO a month. In 2009, the refinery is scheduled to produce 2.6 million tonnes of oil and petroleum products a year, meeting 30% of the country’s demand. (VOV)