Kuwait- Refinery project ready for execution as Vietnam provides land 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The government of Vietnam has allocated land for a Kuwaiti jointly-owned refinery and petrochemicals plant, with the land now ready for excavation and basic construction, a Kuwait Petroleum International (Q8) senior employee said Tuesday.

The Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical project is a joint venture between four sides, with close to equal shares. Q8's share in the project is 35.1pct, PetroVietnam, 25.1pct and Japan's SK, 35.1, in addition to a partner which specializes in the petrochemicals industry, Japan's Mitsui Chemicals.

The Vietnamese government has provided many facilitations for foreign investors in the country, through allowing the tax-free import of crude oil for the refinery and pledging to purchase all the petroleum products of the intended refinery, Kuwait Petroleum International's (Q8) director and deputy director for financial affairs Yousif Al-Yateem said in an interview with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's staff magazine.

Q8 has done "extensive research" of the intended project, covering all angles, especially the economic aspect, he said, like the exchange value of the Vietnamese currency. All of these feasibility studies showed that the project is "economically feasible." Due to hard currency issues, the execution of the project has been delayed a year, and the Japanese government have stepped in to resolve the matter, he said.

Japanese banks have funded 70pct of the total costs of the project, in addition to backing from the UN and World Bank, he added.

The remaining costs, around KD 360 million (USD one billion), will be shared amongst the three main partners, the governments of Kuwait, Vietnam and Japan, he concluded.