HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), or PVN, produced 9.23 million tonnes of oil in the first seven months of this year, exceeding the target set for the period, said the group’s CEO Nguyễn Vũ Trường Sơn.

Speaking at the meeting with Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc in Hà Nội on Saturday, Sơn said the group earned January-July revenue of VNĐ278.5 trillion (US$12.21 billion), surpassing the seven-month target by 14 per cent and fulfilling 64 per cent of the yearly goal, making an after-tax profit of VNĐ14.1 trillion.

“The PVN sent VNĐ50.8 trillion to the State budget,” said Sơn.

The CEO said the group made significant progress in oil drilling and exploration, with the discovery of a new basin named Cá Trích (Sardinella) well at block 11-2 and a number of oil wells with good volume, such as Thiên Nga-3X at the White Swan oil field and Bạch Hổ-48 well at the White Tiger oil field.

Sơn also reported that the White Rabbit 3 oilfield saw its first stream of oil extracted from well 37P on May 7, 13 days ahead of schedule.

“PetroVietnam implemented science, technology and training activities, as well as ensuring oil and gas security and safety, and environmental and labour safety. The prevention of fire at oil and gas facilities was controlled while social welfare was ensured,” said Sơn.

Based on the good results in the first seven months of this year, PVN expects to earn VNĐ471 trillion in revenue, exceeding its yearly goal by 7.4 per cent. About VNĐ89 trillion will be contributed to the State budget, a 20 per cent increase over the plan.

“The group strives to produce at least 13.28 million tonnes of crude oil and 10.61 billion cubic metres of gas in 2017 and keep a close watch on world oil prices to promptly cope with any fluctuations,” said Sơn.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Phúc recognised the group’s contributions to affirming national sovereignty and increasing the State budget.

He urged the group to speed up restructuring, reorganising production, and improving management in order to achieve its goals set for 2017 and following years.

PVN boosts non-score business with Vinatex

In another development, heads of PetroVietnam met leaders of Việt Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) on Friday in an attempt to continue implementing their agreement on fibre consumption of the Đình Vũ Polyester Fibre Plant.

The plant is one of five major projects under weak management, causing losses of State capital. PetroVietnam and Vinatex have invested nearly VNĐ7 trillion (about $310 million) in the plant.

The two sides discussed issues related to the plant’s operation, the testing use of polyester fibre, supervision, evaluation of fibre quality, marketing and training.

Vinatex General Director Lê Tiến Trường committed that the group would enhance the consumption of the Đình Vũ Plant’s polyester fibre by all the group’s units, from the current volume of 50 per cent.

“The Vinatex’s consumption capacity was about 60,000 tonnes of polyester fibre per year, meanwhile the local business demand has grown from 10 per cent to 15 per cent annually,” said Trường.

Trường said the price of fibre was between $1.1 and $1.12 per kilogramme, higher than that of 2015, while the price of materials for polyester fibre production is also lower than that of 2015 – two important elements for resuming the plant’s operation.

At the meeting, PVN CEO Sơn said his group would try to re-operate the Đình Vũ plant in the shortest time, providing a stable supply of polyester fibre for Vietnamese businesses. — VNS