Vietnam's Nghi Son might face startup delay at new PP plant

Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical might face up to 6 months delay before commercial run at its newly constructed PP plant in Vietnam due to some mechanical faults spotted during the trial run. The company initially plans to commence commercial production in quarter 1 of 2018.

A media report quoting PetroVietnam’s statement saying, “The trial run therefore might extend another 3-6 months. We are working on the issues relating to a wielding quality of a connector.”

Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical is a joint venture project between Japan's Idemitsu Kosan (35.1%), Kuwait Petroleum International (35.1%), PetroVietnam (25.1%) and Mitsui Chemicals (4.7%).

The plant is able to process 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and produce 370,000 tons/year of PP, 680,000 tons/year of PX and 200,000 tons/year of benzene.