HANOI, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Profits of Vietnam's first Dung Quat Refinery in 2017 are forecast to plunge 66 percent from 2016, according to its operator, the state-owned Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR) on Tuesday.
Profits of the refinery in the central Quang Ngai province, are estimated to drop to 1.68 trillion Vietnamese dong (75.34 million U.S. dollars).
The refinery is projected to decrease its turnover by 17 percent this year, hitting 62.4 trillion Vietnamese dong (2.8 billion U.S. dollars) this year.
The operator of the three-billion-U.S. dollar refinery said despite high growth last year, they set the modest targets because they foresee an expected drop in crude oil prices and a shorter production time.
Tran Ngoc Nguyen, BSR's general director, was quoted by Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA as saying the set targets are based on the speculative oil price of 50 U.S. dollars per barrel.
In addition, the refinery will halt its operation within 52 days for its third overall maintenance in the middle of the year.
The refinery currently meets around a third of Vietnam's demand for fuel and oil products, said VNA.
