The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has announced that it will sell up to 30 percent of its shares in oil refineries to foreign partners that are ready and willing to supply crude oil to those plants on a long-term basis, Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.

This announcement was delivered by PetroVietnam's General Director Tran Ngoc Canh at the West Pacific gas industry's 10th conference-cum-exhibition that took place recently. And he also said that the percentage of stocks to be sold may be increased in special cases.

A part from the country's first oil refinery, namely Dung Quat, currently being built in the central Quang Ngai province of Vietnam and scheduled for completion in February 2009, PetroVietnam has plans to build two other plants.

One of these two, with an estimated output capacity of 200,000 barrels a day and investment capital of 6 billion U.S. dollars, is to be built in the central province of Thanh Hoa, Vietnam, in a joint venture with the Kuwait international oil and gas group and the Idemitsu Kosan group of Japan.

The other, also with a production capacity of 200,000 barrels a day, is scheduled to be built in the southern region, the country' s largest consumer center. The project is still at the discussion stage with foreign partners, including the Venezuelan National Oil and Gas Group.

Despite being the third largest producer of crude oil in Southeast Asia with an average output of 300,000 barrels a day, Vietnam still has to import petroleum due to lack of oil refineries.

The country will need to buy about 26.5 tons of crude oil to supply the three refineries when they are put into operation, said PetroVietnam.

Currently, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, as well as a number of companies from Venezuela and the Middle East are in a race to become a supplier of crude oil to Vietnam.

Once operational, these three oil refineries will help Vietnam to reduce its import and trade deficit.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)