BSR seeks $600 million loan for $1.489 billion Dung Quat refinery expansion
BSR has invited international banks and financial institutions to arrange about $600 million for the Dung Quat refinery upgrade and expansion. The $1.489 billion project will raise processing capacity from 148,000 to 171,000 barrels per day and bring fuel quality up to the Euro V standard.
International lenders invited to finance expansion
Vietnamese refiner BSR has formally approached international banks and financial institutions to arrange about $600 million in debt for the upgrade and expansion of the Dung Quat refinery. The company issued its request for financing proposals in early August 2026, according to CafeBiz and Soha.
The proposed loan represents approximately 40% of the project's total investment of about $1.489 billion. BSR is seeking a banking consortium that will include a lead arranger, making the financing process a central part of the refinery expansion as implementation gathers pace.
The company is considering several structures. These include a loan insured by the World Bank Group's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, or MIGA; financing backed by export credit agencies and linked to the engineering, procurement and construction package; and an international commercial loan. BSR said the range of structures is intended to improve access to international capital and secure costs and conditions suited to the project.
Selection scheduled for the fourth quarter
BSR plans to complete its evaluation and select the financing consortium, including the lead arranging bank, in the fourth quarter of 2026. It will then work on the credit documentation, with the objective of having the loan ready for disbursement from the third quarter of 2027.
Until borrowed funds become available, BSR expects to use equity to keep the project on schedule. That approach allows construction-related work to advance while negotiations with lenders, insurers and potential export credit providers continue.
MIGA had already sent a delegation to inspect the project site in June 2026. The visit preceded the formal request for proposals and indicates that an insured financing option is being actively examined, although the final funding structure and participating institutions have not yet been selected.
Capacity to rise to 171,000 barrels per day
Once completed, the project will increase Dung Quat's crude processing capacity from 148,000 barrels per day to 171,000 barrels per day, a gain of 23,000 barrels per day. It will also upgrade output to the Euro V fuel standard, improving the specification of products supplied to Vietnam's domestic market.
The expansion is also designed to give the refinery greater flexibility to receive and process different grades of crude oil from domestic and imported sources. This capability matters for procurement because it can broaden the pool of usable feedstocks and reduce operational dependence on a narrower crude slate. The sources did not identify particular foreign suppliers or provide expected import volumes.
Dung Quat is Vietnam's first refinery and is managed and operated by BSR. It is also the largest refinery currently owned by a Vietnamese company. BSR expects the investment to improve operating efficiency, increase domestic supplies of refined and petrochemical products and support national energy security. For fuel producers, crude suppliers and traders, the next key milestone is the selection of lenders in the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by completion of loan documents ahead of the targeted third-quarter 2027 funding availability.