Newsletter No. 961
News-Analysis
April 1, 2008

 

MOFA VICE-MINISTER OSAMU UNO IN KUWAIT

Upon leaving Saudi Arabia, MOFA Vice-Minister Osamu Uno next flew to Kuwait for an overnight stay. There he held talks with Deputy Prime Minister-Defense Minister Jabr al-Sabah about the bilateral relationship and matters regarding Iraq. He also had meetings with Prime Minister Nasr al-Sabah and Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Muhammad al-Sabah.

On the afternoon of the 25th he traced the steps of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by paying a visit to the ASDF squadron at Ali al-Salim Airbase. He inspected the troops and offered them encouragement in their mission.

JAPANESE-KUWAITI REFINERY PROJECT IN VIETNAM

Two Japanese companies, Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Chemical, are entering into an unusual joint project with the state-run Kuwait Petroleum International to build a US$6 billion oil refinery in Vietnam. This refinery will be supplied with Kuwaiti crude oil when it is completed in mid-2013 and will have a total refining capacity of 200,000 bpd. The tentative name of the new venture is the Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical Company.

The precise division of shares in the project is as follows:

35.1% -- Idemitsu Kosan
35.1% -- Kuwait Petroleum International
25.1% -- PetroVietnam
4.7% -- Mitsui Chemical

The formal signing ceremony is expected to be held sometime this month in Hanoi.