The negotiation process has progressed and both sides are going to conclude negotiations soon, reported Interfax – ANI quoting Gazprom Neft management board chairman Aleksandr Dyukov.

Dyukov said this is a lucrative deal as Vietnam is a developing economy that imports oil products to fuel growth. He said when the deal is completed Vietnam will be a potential consumer of oil products from Gasprom Neft.

A panoramic view of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery in central Vietnam

During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Hanoi visit in 2013, Gasprom Neft signed a framework agreement with PetroVietnam to acquire a 49% stake of the Dung Quat oil refinery and modernise the plant.

As part of the US$1-1.5 billion modernisation program, the annual production capacity of the refinery will be increased from the current 6.5 million tonnes to 10-12 million tonnes.

The Russian partner will supply 3 million tonnes of crude oil to the Dung Quat oil refinery in 2015 and raise the figure to 3.6 million tonnes in 2016, 4.8 million tonnes in 2018 and not less than 6 million tonnes in the following years.

The refinery uses approximately 85% of crude oil pumped up from Vietnam and imports the remainder from the Middle East.