Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Binh Phuoc to construct multi-million USD eco-tourism complex

Construction of a 20 million USD eco-tourism complex in Tan Phu township, Dong Phu district, the southern province of Binh Phuoc , began on Dec 22.

The project, funded by Gia Hong Company and Australia ’s MPM construction investment and development company, will contain a park, a sports centre, hotels, and restaurants and will occupy 82,000 sq.m of land.

The project is expected to be completed in two years.

Binh Phuoc province will include the resort in its tourism development plan, which runs until 2020 and has pledged to create favourable conditions for investors to be able to expand the complex.

Source: VNA

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Vietnam to have made-in-Vietnam oil and petrol products

VietNamNet Bridge – The Dung Quat Oil Refinery is expected to be putting out the first made-in-Vietnam commercial oil flow in two months, according to Deputy General Director of Dung Quat Oil Refinery Dinh Van Ngoc.

Ngoc said that the oil refinery will become officially operational on February 25, 2009. To date, 98.5% of works have been completed, allowing the oil refinery to be put into operation on schedule.

What kinds of products will be launched onto the market from the Dung Quat oil refinery?


The oil refinery has been designed to churn out nine products, including propylene, 150,000 tonnes a year. We have signed a contract with Marubeni on Japan’s consumption of the product until the construction of the polypropylene (PP) workshop at Dung Quat is finished, expected at the end of October 2010. When the workshop becomes operational, propylene will be sent to the PP workshop and made into plastic beads to serve local industries.

The other products are LPG, liquidised gas, with the capacity of 300,000 tonnes per annum, petrol of different types, A90, A92 and A95, 1.9mil tonnes, fuel for jet engines, and petrol for aircrafts (jet A1), 360,000 tonnes at maximum, diesel, 3mil tonnes per annum, and FO, 400,000 tonnes a year.

Dung Quat oil refinery is scheduled to run at 60-65% designed capacity from February to June 2009 and 70% of designed capacity from June-August. As of August 2009, it will run at 100% capacity. It is expected that in 2009, the oil refinery will consume approximately 4mil tonnes of crude oil, producing 3.6mil tonnes of products. As of 2010, it will meet 30% of the country’s demand.

Does PetroVietnam plan to expand the oil refinery?

PetroVietnam is considering upgrading the capacity of the oil refinery, and the optimal solution is to increase the capacity of the existing facilities at Dung Quat economic zone. This solution would save investment capital, requiring the fewest adjustments and the shortest time. When we have a big oil refinery, a 5% or 10% increase in capacity will be significant. We don’t have to make heavy investment in equipment, but can raise capacity and gain high economic efficiency.

The second solution is to install a second production line, taking full advantage of labour resources, peripheral support, infrastructure and deep water seaports.

Does this mean that Vietnamese people will have cheap petrol and oil products in a short time?

Dung Quat oil refinery will operate under the management of the government and PetroVietnam. Petrol and oil prices will depend on the government’s policies regarding the stabilisation of the market and sustainable development. However, I can say that the sale prices of products from Dung Quat oil refineries will be competitive and follow market laws.

Source: Tuoi tre

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

New project promotes corporate responsibility

Vietnamese enterprises will be encouraged to adopt socially and environmentally responsible behavior under a two-year, US$2.5 million project signed Wednesday.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said in a joint press release that the project would support the adaptation of a number of international agreements and conventions that relate directly to business operations.

While philanthropic activities remain a part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies, the VCCI-UNDP project will work to ensure that this becomes a core part of any business strategy.

The project will promote CSR through the local UN Global Compact network launched in Vietnam last year. The network is a voluntary corporate citizenship initiative that calls on members to embrace core principles including human rights, labor standards, environment, and anticorruption.

Source: thanhnien

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Deputy PM reminds oil refinery contractors of February deadline

With major sections of the Dung Quat oil refinery almost complete, contractors should continue to work quickly to make sure of meeting its February deadline, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said Saturday.

They should encourage workers to work during the Tet holidays, he said during a visit to the country’s first refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The refinery management told Hai that work on major tendering packages has almost been wrapped up.

Quality inspections have been completed on tendering package 5A to build a breakwater, package 5B (oil products export jetty), and package 7 (administrative and service facilities), managers said.

EPC (engineering-procurement-construction) tendering packages 1+4 and 2+3 for procurement and installation of equipment and facilities have seen 98.4 percent of the work completed, they said.

Earlier this month the refinery received 80,000 tons of crude oil for a test run. PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) dispatched the oil from Bach Ho (White tiger) oil field off the Vietnamese coast.

The management said 1,046 workers have been trained to work in the refinery, which is set to hire around 1,200 in all when commissioned.

Hai urged the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the monopoly state power supplier, to link the refinery’s power turbines to the national grid. He also instructed the Quang Ngai Province administration to complete site clearance for the Dung Quat Economic Zone.

Safety and security first

Hai also called on agencies concerned to ensure the site’s security.

Many crimes were reported this year in the economic zone, where the refinery is located, including murders, stabbings, thefts of construction materials and drug deals. The zone, 870 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, also houses many other petrochemical and heavy industries.

Vietnam is Southeast Asia’s third-largest crude oil producer with output averaging 350,000 barrels per day.

But it still imports most of its oil products in the absence of a refinery.

Capitalized at US$2.5 billion, Dung Quat will have a capacity to refine 6.5 million tons of crude annually. PetroVietnam is seeking to raise that to 10 million tons.

When fully operational, Dung Quat will supply more than 40 percent of the oil needs of Vietnam, which has a population of 86.5 million and more than 20 million motorbikes.

Demand is expected to grow 13-15 percent annually.

Later Saturday Hai visited Doosan Vina Company and called on the South Korean firm to fulfill its commitments to workers and set up a labor union soon to avert future industrial action like the wildcat strike that hit the firm earlier this month.

Two weeks ago around 1,300 workers gathered in front of the company to demand proper treatment and payment of allowances.

They agreed to go back to work after the firm, which makes cranes, pressure tanks and filtering devices, promised it would soon set up a labor union, improve the quality of food, guarantee safety, and behave better with employees.

Source: TN, Agencies

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