With a large population and high GDP Growth Rate, Vietnamese economy is showing promise and that better days for its large consumer base are not long in coming. Vietnam’s consumer base numbers 88.1 million (UN, 2009), which create a huge demand for processed goods.
With increasing urbanization and growing demand for quality food, Vietnam is becoming a hub for food products processing as the industry has been growing at an annual rate of 20-30%. Changing consumption habits are making processed food more accessible to the Vietnamese.
The locals now use more processed or preliminarily treated food to make meals, which is seen as a big opportunity for food processors, says a new research report Processed Food Market in Vietnam by RNCOS.
In order to exploit the opportunities, many processed food producers have already started focusing on making processed food for domestic sales instead of making food for export as previously.
Vietnam is also a big exporter of commodities like rice, green coffee, rubber, pepper, seafood, textiles and garment. Meanwhile, distributors are now racing to conquer the market.
The above market situation is a good opportunity to serve the process industries in Vietnam with modern technology and automated processing equipments.
EVN plans new power plant projects (3/2/2010) National power utility Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) has said it would generate an additional 2,000 MW from 15 new hydropower and thermal projects nationwide this year.
EVN now has 14 hydropower plants and nine thermopower plants which are scheduled to become operational in the period between 2010-2015. Of these plants, 13 plants have seen their openings delayed by at least one year. Meanwhile, EVN is reconsidering the project efficiency of the Thac Mo hydropower plant in Binh Phuoc province.
This year, EVN will start constructing six more thermal and hydropower plants with a total capacity of 5,356 MW and prepare for four other projects capable of generating 2,760 MW that will begin construction next year. Source: Vietnam News.
Besides EVN, PetroVietnam also speeds up Construction of power plant projects. State-owned oil monopoly PetroVietnam has been stepped up the implementation of Ca Mau 2 power plant, Phu My-Nhon Trach gas pipeline, Nhon Trach 1 and Nhon Trach 2 power plants.
Vietnam’s first oil refinery Dung Quat Refinery has been completed and become operational during 2009.
In July 2008 UK-based Foster Wheeler Energy Limited announced that it had been awarded the front end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the planned Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical Complex. The FEED work was completed during the fourth quarter of 2009. Now, the EPC contractor is being selected.
The investment cost for the complex which includes a refinery producing up to 10mtpa of crude along with petrochemical capacity has been put at $6.2bn.
It is anticipated that once operational, the two refineries would allow Vietnam to meet 50% of domestic demand for oil products. In addition, the Dung Quat and Nghi Son projects would contribute to the development of petrochemical Industry in Vietnam.
On March 19, 2008, SCG—through its VSCG Chem subsidiary—entered into a joint venture agreement with PetroVietnam, Vinachem, and Thai Plastic and Chemicals Public Company Limited (TPC) to build Vietnam’s first world-scale petrochemicals complex. SCG expects to own a 71% stake in the venture, with the partners holding the remaining 29%.
The new petrochemicals complex, which is expected to cost $3.5-4 billion, will be located on Long Son Island in Vietnam’s southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau. It will be located near a $10 billion oil refinery also planned for the area.
The facility will comprise a naphtha-based cracker with an olefins capacity of 1.65 million tons, a polyolefins plant with a capacity of 1.45 million tons, a 280,000-ton-capacity chlor-alkali unit, and a PVC plant with production capacities of 330,000 tons of EDC and 400,000 tons of VCM. The complex will also include infrastructure such as port and storage facilities as well as utilities. Products from the facility will include the following products for the Vietnamese market: HDPE, LDPE, PE, PP, and PVC.
In September 2009, Taiwan’s Formosa Heavy Industries received an approval from the government to build a US$12.47bn petrochemical and oil refinery project in Vung Ang Economic Zone. The project is to have capacity of 300,000b/d of oil and 16mn tpa of petrochemicals. The company is constructing a US$7.9bn steel project in the same zone.
In anticipation for the development of Vietnam emerging petrochemical industry, Haison is working with our partners in Vietnam to prepare for the opportunities that will arise.
Vietnam oil and gas industry is ranks the fourth in oil production among Southeast Asian countries. To date Vietnam’s oil and gas industry has produced almost 220 million tons of crude oil and 37 billion cubic meters of natural gas bringing a turn over of US$ 53 billion and contributing US$ 30 billion to the State’s budget. Till December 2007, the industry has attracted approx. US$ 5.8 billion of foreign capital for exploration and production.
Vietnam’s first downstream Dung Quat oil refinery in central Quang Ngai province has been operating since February 2009. In May 2008, the opening ceremony for second oil refinery to be operational by 2013, with attracting capital investment of US$ 6.2 billion, targeted capacity of up to 10 million tons per year, its located in Thanh Hoa province, this is the biggest project between PETROVIETNAM, Japan and Kuwait. PETROVIETNAM is now preparing for its third refinery project in Long Son district of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
The Vietnam Government, PETROVIETNAM together with foreign investors will actively invest in the infrastructure such as harbour, petroleum port system, gas pipeline, and gas consumption projects such as LPG, gas-fired power plants, fertilizer plants, etc. to develop the gas market, petroleum refining, petrochemical, petroleum trading and distribution, expansion and development of petroleum services to build an integrated petroleum industry. The total investment needs for 2006-2025 period for the petroleum sector are projected at US$ 30 billion, in which the investment from partners is about US$ 14 billion. (Source: Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, “PETROVIETNAMs development strategy to 2015 and orientation toward 2025”).
Exploration success is on the rise in Vietnam, with a growing number of international oil companies (IOCs) teaming up with PetroVietnam and finding and developing hydrocarbon resources, particularly gas.
In Vietnam Oil And Gas Report Quarter 2, 2010 posted on the web, the research company with the same name forecasts that the country will account for 1.57 percent of Asia-Pacific regional oil demand by 2014, while providing 4.24 percent of supply. Regional oil production averaged an estimated 8.46 million barrels/day in 2009 and is set to increase to 8.77 million barrels/day by 2014.
In terms of natural gas, demand of 616 billion cubic metres is targeted for 2014 and production should reach 542 billion cubic metres in 2014. Vietnam’s share of gas consumption is forecast to be 3.9 percent, with the country accounting for 4.43 percent of supply.
Overall the Vietnamese oil and gas industry is a promising potential. As indicated, there is a need for future investments in both upstream and downstream production in order to tap the country’s recourses effectively.
With partners who are the EPC contractors of industrial construction in Vietnam, we have supplied many Bray control valves, manual valve, Knight Gate Valves for our customer in energy and chemical plants in Vietnam.
Also, we work with another partner to upgrade, replacements the existing valves from manual operation to fully automated operation by using control valves with control and instrumentation systems.
In 2007, we finished an upgrade project for a Honeywell DCS/ Terminal Automation System from the old DCS PlantScape version to the new Honeywell DCS version named Experion PKS for a big customer, Petechim, who owns an oil terminal in the South of Vietnam and belongs to Petrovietnam Group.
( Hardware of Honeywell Distributed Control System including C200 Honeywell Controller with I/O Modules)
With the support from Honeywell engineers, Haison engineers have co-operated and finished the project in time and within budget.
We expect to do more services like this for our customers in many other industries in Vietnam.
