KUWAIT: The NghiSon Refinery and Petrochemical Limited Liability Company (NSRP) in Vietnam isconsidered to be part of a vast and important project to all shareholders inthe energy sector especially the Vietnamese government, CEO of Kuwait PetroleumInternational Ltd (KPI) and head of the Kuwaiti delegation Nabil Bourisly said.When contacted by yesterday after the official ceremony of the refinery'scommercial operation, Bourisly explained the significance of this step forwarddue to the increased demand of oil production and the cooperative efforts byall the sponsors of this project showing a strengthening of relations betweenall three state owners (Kuwait - Japan - Vietnam).
This strategicventure focuses on investing in the major developing markets specifically inAsia and areas that help strengthen the relations of KPI, mentioned Bourisly.He also added this major investment in the refinery and petrochemicals sectorswhich will support KPI in its relations with other associations and open newdoors for even more investments and partnerships and diversifies Kuwait's Crudeoil outlets, while also an opportunity for small and upcoming companies.
When asked howthis project could benefit the Vietnamese government, Bourisly said that theNSRP as the second refinery in Vietnam along with the existing Dung Quantrefinery together meets around 70 percent of local demand for oil production.He also added that NSRP provides premium products to the market like premiumdiesel and gasoline in addition to LPG, jet fuel, and many petrochemicalproducts like polypropylene and Benzene. All this production needs a largeworkforce which provides hundreds of jobs to the local Vietnamese population.
The NSRP alsosecures KPI's production for the long term as the complex is a Greenfieldrefinery with a capacity of 200 KBPD, said Bourisly. The partnership with PetroVietnam and Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co. is very beneficial in marketing theproducts in the local and international markets as the Japanese experience andsupport are very valuable especially in the world market.
Other than theeconomic benefits of this investment, Boursily emphasized the high level ofexperience KPI's employees will obtain from such a project from the challengesthey will face, as well as gaining safe depositories for Kuwaiti crude oil. Thethree Kuwaiti banks that financially contributed to the NSRP project are theNational Bank of Kuwait, Commercial Bank of Kuwait and Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait,which is worth around $112 million and "they have always been supportingKPI in its international venture," said Bourisly. - KUNA