A leading fuel retailer in southern Vietnam is dipping its toe into the lubricants business as it searches for ways to continue growing.
NSH Petro plans to build a small lube blending plant along with a bio-fuels plant and other facilities on the banks of the Hau River in Mai Dam, in Hau Giang province, southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
In late October the provincial people’s committee approved the development plan, which carries a total price tag of 600 billion dong (U.S. $26.6 million).
NSH, which is based in Mai Dam, has a chain of 120 fuel stations and claims to be the largest fuel retailer in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta region. According to local press reports, the company has grown steadily, but the rate of growth has decreased in recent years and so is looking to expand its scope of business.
The company plans to tackle the riverfront project in several stages. The first phase was to build a port to receive sea-going ships, a facility that was due to open last month. The second phase calls for the bio-fuels plant, the centerpiece of the development, to open by mid-2022. It is designed for capacity to make 100,000 metric tons per year of plant-based automotive fuels.
By December of 2022 the company plans to open a 300,000 t/y petroleum condensates plant, and by mid-2023 it would build a lubricant blending plant with capacity of 4,900 t/y and a liquefied gas plant of equal capacity.
NSH has also undertaking other projects in real estate and hotel development. It does not market lubricants currently.