HANOI - Vietnam's Xuan Thien Group is studying the possibility of building a refinery with an initial capacity of processing 3 million tonnes of crude oil a year in the country's north, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Tuesday.

The private firm has submitted a proposal for construction of the facility to the local government of Ninh Binh province, the ministry said in a news release.

Vietnam currently has two oil refineries in operation that meet 70%-80% of the country's fuel needs.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)