The Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has lauded the opening of the new Dung Quat refinery after 44 months of work.

At a televised opening ceremony, the Vietnamese premier said that the facility, which will process 6.5 million tonnes of crude annually, marked an important milestone in the country's bid for energy independence.

Figures from the Energy Information Administration show that while Vietnam's crude export volumes have grown steadily over the past few decades, it has relied on imports to meet demands for distillates such as petrol, diesel and lubricants.

"The event is a great historic landmark for the country. From now on Vietnam can produce petroleum products by itself after having to import petroleum for over 20 years," added Tran Ngoc Canh, general director of PetroVietnam, speaking to Vietnam News.

PetroVietnam trained more than 1,000 workers prior to the grand opening of the plant and has brought in a range of crude, gas and diesel products to test the facilities.

Global Education and Training event for Oil and Gas: Refining and Petrochemicals