Dung Quat oil refinery to come online next month

Quang Ngai (VNA) - Investors and contractors involved in the construction of the
Dung Quat oil refinery project are making a concerted effort to ensure that the
project in central Quang Ngai province will commence operations on Feb. 25, as
scheduled.

Truong Van Tuyen, Vice General Director of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group
(PetroVietnam) and head of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Project Management Board, made
this announcement on Jan. 9.

The Project Management Board is working closely alongside its major contractor,
Technip to complete the final stage of construction and begin the trial operation of
separate plant systems in order to enable the whole refinery to become operational
and begin production on time.

By January, almost all of the outstanding administrative and service tasks were
completed. In addition, 52,500 tonnes of diesel and 80,000 tonnes of crude oil have
been imported as raw materials for the refinery. The management board has trained
and recruited more than 1,000 engineers and technicians to work at the refinery.

Construction of the Dung Quat oil refinery, with an annual output capacity of 6.5
million tonnes, commenced in June 2005. PetroVietnam has submitted plans for the
Prime Minister's approval to expand the Dung Quat Oil Refinery's annual output
capacity to 10 million tonnes once the oil refinery becomes operational.-Enditem