PETMAL Oil Holdings proposes a $2 billion oil refinery in the central province of Phu Yen

At the meeting with the leadership of Phu Yen People’s Committee on April 19, chairman and general director of PETMAL Oil Holdings Paduka Affendi stated that the group want to be allocated 500 hectares of land to develop the oil refinery and that the construction is expected to be completed in 36 months.

Responding to Paduka Affendi’s opinion, Chairman of Phu Yen People’s Committee Ta Anh Tuan said that the central province highly appreciates the group’s plan. The Southern Phu Yen Economic Zone plans to attract technical infrastructure investment to build a deepwater port and industries that will boost the seaport’s advantages, including an oil refinery.

“The investor should work with relevant departments, agencies, and partners to ensure regulatory compliance when implementing the venture in the province,” Tuan said.

PETMAL Oil Holdings is the first independent, integrated, and licensed oil company in Malaysia that is involved in both up and downstream activities. It has played a major role in acquiring supply contracts from major companies within the industry to regional markets such as India and Europe.

It is not the first time that foreign investors have suggested plans to develop an oil refinery in the province. In 2007, the joint venture between Technostar Management Ltd. from the United Kingdom and Telloil from Russia received an investment certificiate for the Vung Ro Petroleum and Oil Refinery project with the initial investment capital of $1.7 billion. After that, the investor gained approval to increase the capital to $3.2 billion.

Under the original plan, the first phase of the construction process would be completed and operations would have begun in 2016. However, 10 years after being approved, the construction failed to begin due to barriers in the capital arrangement. As the result, in 2018, the project had its investment certificate revoked.