The refinery, run by the Petrol Viet Nam Group, received 80,000 tonnes of crude oil from the Petrol Vietnam Oil Corporation, one of the group’s subsidiaries and also the buyer for goods produced at the refinery.

At a ceremony to mark the event, Huynh Ngoc Son, deputy chairman of the National Assembly applauded the efforts of the group and the refinery construction team for their work on the project.

Son said the refinery’s first shipment of crude was an important event, adding he believed the refinery would work well to ensure fuel security for the nation.

The corporation said it would provide 4 million tonnes of crude oil, exploited from Bach Ho Oilfield for the refinery and would distribute all of the 3.4 million tonnes of goods produced at the refinery in its first year.

The refinery will kick off officially operations in 2010 with a plan to produce 5.7 million tonnes of petrol and oil to serve domestic demand in the first 12 months.

Dung Quat refinery is designed to have a capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually. It also produces petrol, kerosene, and fuel for jet planes. The refinery is planned to meet 30 per cent of the domestic demand for fuel.

Dinh Van Ngoc, deputy director of the refinery managing board, said construction work would be finished next February.