PTT Plc is considering building a refinery with a capacity of 660,000 barrels a day, which would make it one of the largest in the world, in Vietnam, say Vietnamese officials.
The refinery, in the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone of coastal Binh Dinh province, would cost $28.7 billion (877 billion baht), Dow Jones Newswires quoted a provincial government statement and a provincial official as saying.
Nattachat Charuchinda, chief operating officer of PTT's downstream petroleum business group, confirmed on Friday that PTT had presented a pre-feasibility study to Vietnamese provincial officials.
He declined to confirm the estimated cost, but indicated that the proposed capacity stated by the Vietnamese officials was accurate. Crude oil would be sourced from the Middle East, he said.
The investment, if it materialises, would come amid a refining boom in Asia, where surging demand for oil products is expected to be the main driver of growth in global oil consumption in coming years.
Sukrit Surabotsopon, PTT's senior executive vice-president for petrochemicals and refining, presented the pre-feasibility study on Thursday, the Vietnamese statement said.
Construction would likely begin in 2016 and the refinery would become operational in 2019, Le Huu Loc, chairman of Binh Dinh province's People's Committee, told Dow Jones Newswires.
PTT has demonstrated that it is "very willing" to undertake the project, "so we are confident that it will be able" to carry it out, Mr Loc said.
Mr Nattachat of PTT said the project would also include an aromatics plant, with the output likely to be shipped to China.
"The potential in Vietnam is huge," he said, noting that the country currently had only one oil refinery.
Mr Loc said PTT had approached a number of Vietnamese companies about partnership roles in its planned refinery. They include state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, Vietnam National Petroleum Corp, or Petrolimex, and Military Petroleum Corp, he said.
Vietnam's sole refinery, the 130,000-barrel-a-day Dung Quat refinery, started production in 2009. It meets only around one third of the country's demand for oil products.
However, PetroVietnam Chairman Phung Dinh Thuc said this month that PetroVietnam and its partners had reached an agreement to proceed with the country's long-delayed second refinery, the 200,000 barrel-a-day Nghi Son refinery, and would sign an engineering, procurement and construction contract in December.
In addition, Thailand's Siam Cement and partners plan to build a $4.5-billion petrochemical complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in southern Vietnam.