Since commencing commercial operations on December 23, 2018 it has contributed VND12 trillion ($520.55 million) to the state budget, Nghi Son Refinery said in a press release.

Last year, to reduce inventory pressure, the Ministry of Industry and Trade allowed Nghi Son to export 240,000 cubic meters of gasoline.

Owner Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC had applied for export permission due to local market inability to absorb fuel sales as the plant ramps up towards commercial operations by the year end.

Based in central Thanh Hoa Province’s Nghi Son Open Economic Zone, the refinery boasts a capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day in its first phase, equivalent to 10 million tonnes a year. Its capability is almost double that of Dung Quat in central Quang Ngai Province, the country’s first refinery.

The $9 billion plant is 35.1 percent owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1 percent by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1 percent by state-run PetroVietnam and 4.7 percent by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

Vietnam exported more than 3.72 million tonnes of crude oil worth over $1.87 billion in the first 11 months of 2019, up 3.3 percent in volume but down 8.4 percent in value year-on-year, according to Vietnam Customs.