PetroVietnam to ramp up exploratory activities

"PetroVietnam has set a target of finding new fields to ensure a potential reserve of between 35 and 40 mm tons of crude oil equivalent," Thang says.
The company is ramping up exploratory activities with priorities given to probing new fields in deep-water and offshore sites, he says.

PetroVietnam is diversifying its product by taking advantage of domestic and overseas petroleum reserves. This is also hoped to address the national economy's increasing demand for fuel, energy and petrochemical products.
"In particular, the company plans to tap 25 to 35 mm tons of oil equivalent a year, of which 18 to 20 mm tons will be crude oil. It also aims to exploit between 6 and 17 bn cm of gas per year," Thang says.

A streamlining of gas resource usage will be put in place to boost gas consumption for the production of power, fertiliser and chemical substances to ensure adequate supplies for industries, transportation and private consumption. The company is committed to supplying between 10 to 15% of the country's electricity output.
"Under the plan, PetroVietnam will continue building the national gas pipeline system so it can connect with other Southeast Asian nations' systems in order to facilitate Vietnam's gas export and import activities," Thang says.

The company is actively wooing investment sources to develop the petroleum processing industry, he says. Integrating oil refineries, petroleum liquefaction plants and gas processing establishments should create the energy products needed to meet the market's domestic needs and be used as materials to provide for other industries.
Over the past 33 years, the domestic petroleum sector has put great effort into petroleum exploration and exploitation for the country and achieved encouraging results. Since Sept. 1975, the sector has tapped 205 mm tons of crude oil and more than 30 bn cm of gas. With a revenue of more than $ 40 bn, the company has contributed $ 25 bn to State coffers, and created its own capital source of VND 80 tn ($ 4.8 bn).

Potential reserves of about 3 to 4 bn cm of oil equivalent at 60 areas of petroleum potential have been discovered. Six of them have already been tapped. In recent years, the industry has repeatedly reached targets of accruing potential reserves of 30 to 40 mm tons of oil equivalent per year, a vital contribution to stabilising petroleum production.
Since the Foreign Investment Law was issued in 1988, the industry has signed 57 exploration and exploitation contracts worth $ 7 bn with foreign investors. Eight of them are still ongoing.

To ensure supplies of energy and fuel for the economy as well as its integration into the international petroleum community, PetroVietnam has expanded its exploration and exploitation activities aboard. At present, the company has seven overseas projects, two of which discovered petroleum fields in Malaysia and Algeria.
The gas industry has also seen steady growth. Associated gas tapped from the Bach Ho (White Tiger) field supplied materials and energy for thePhu My Power-Fertiliser Plant, and created a large volume of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and condensate (liquid hydrocarbons separated from natural gas via cooling) for domestic use.

Meanwhile, the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex and the Southern Refinery are now on the drawing board. These new facilities are expected to supply materials and new products for various industries, particularly the petrochemical sector. Diversified service forms in the petroleum industry, including technical support service, trading, finance and insurance, facilitated the development of petroleum-related industries and increased the sector's revenues.
As for adjusting to its own economic growth as well as Vietnam's, PetroVietnam has made several changes, including the equitization of some member companies and adjustment of business operations to suit the shifting demands of a growing enterprise. Training has always been considered top priority by the management board and the company can now boast of staff of 22,000 skilled employees.