JV petchem project of PTT and Aramco likely to be shelved

According to media reports, Thailand’s energy major PTT revealed that the refinery and petrochemical project in Vietnam’s Binh Dinh Province Nhon Hoi economic zone, which is worth $20 billion, will probably be scrapped.

The project was a PTT-Saudi Aramco joint venture and it was planned to include a 400,000 barrel/day refinery, a naphtha cracker with a capacity of 1.4 million tons/year of ethylene as well as units producing 5 million tons/year of downstream products. Both PTT and Saudi Aramco were expected to have a 40% stake in the project while the government would have 20%.

PTT President and CEO, Vongnavich, pointed to the government’s intention to develop the location of the project as a tourist destination as the reason behind this situation, although local authorities are yet to confirm any decision about this area.

According to sources, PTT has the options of relocating the complex or cancelling it. IRPC, a PTT subsidiary, is reported to be carrying out a feasibility study and is looking for a new partner to replace Aramco in order to save time.

The complex was aimed to run in 2021 but then estimated to be completed in 2025.