Ngô Thúy Quỳnh, deputy director of Petroleum and Coal Department under Ministry of Industry and Trade. — Photo conthuong.vn

Ngô Thúy Quỳnh, deputy director of Petroleum and Coal Department under Ministry of Industry and Trade spoke to Công Thương (Industry and Trade) newspaper about the master plan for development of Việt Nam's petroleum industry.

How is energy saving and efficiency optimisation in oil and gas processing plants being implemented? 

Oil and gas processing plants in Việt Nam still face many difficulties due to many subjective or objective reasons such as fluctuations in world oil prices, inefficient production and energy saving.

Optimising production and saving energy for these plants is very necessary and will significantly contribute to the efficiency of their production and business activities.

In recent years, oil and gas processing units of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group have continuously improved their production to reduce energy consumption.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) regularly directs production units to further improve energy saving and efficiency and has also implemented many programmes to encourage enterprises to save energy, including the National Target Programme on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy.

Two phases of the programme had been implemented and the third phase of 2019-2030 is being carried out, aiming to save 5-7 per cent of the total national commercial energy consumption in the period of 2019-2025 and 8-10 per cent for 2019-2030 period.

The ministry also calls on enterprises to come up with solutions to optimise and save energy through scientific research topics and programmes and awards such as the Sustainable Energy award, the National Brand award.

The open-door policy and the removal of tax barriers have allowed many oil products to flow into Việt Nam, leading to enormous competitive pressure and oversupply. What is your opinion about this?

The world and regional economic integration is an inevitable trend in Việt Nam. Under the free trade agreements between Việt Nam and other countries in recent years, Việt Nam has committed to reduce import tax on petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel.

The implementation of the roadmap has put a lot of pressure on prices and quality for domestically produced petroleum products.

Oil and gas processing factories in Việt Nam need to research and accelerate upgrades, improvement, increase productivity, minimise management and operating costs, and improve product quality as well as take advantage of the market to be able to compete with imported products.

Researching to diversify sources of raw materials and processing technology to improve quality and types of products to market demand is also an urgent activity for local businesses.

The MoIT has also closely monitored enterprises' production to take timely support measures, especially, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry sent documents to request petroleum businesses give priority to buying domestically produced products. At the same time, the Ministry has proposed mechanisms and policies to maximum support for the operation of domestic oil and gas processing enterprises.

The optimisation of production operations and energy saving is an important solution to improve production efficiency and competitiveness of oil and gas processing plants. Can you give out the key points for the efficient use of energy in oil and gas processing plants in the future?

Optimising production and saving energy is an important solution to improve production efficiency and competitiveness of oil and gas processing plants.

To implement this, plants need to continue carrying out effective solutions to use energy efficiently such as strengthening research and implementing energy saving in production and operation.

It is also necessary to have radical solutions to improve competitiveness such as researching and implementing solutions to diversify raw materials; upgrade and improve technology to improve economic efficiency of projects.

In addition, enterprises must actively research to improve product quality to meet the Government's plan for green and cleaner product standards and in line with global commitments and trends.

What are the ministry's specific policies and solutions to promote efficient use of energy in oil and gas processing plants in the future?

Based on the conditions of socio-economic development, infrastructure (energy systems, land, seaports) and forecast of energy demand of regions in Việt Nam, the government may consider planning energy centres so they can use shared infrastructure and equipment systems; make use of excess energy, and improve energy efficiency.

However, the formation of centralised energy industrial zones or the application of an integrated cost optimisation model should be carefully researched on the above conditions as well as in accordance with the development orientation of the energy strategy of the country to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

Investment in the construction of energy centres as well as policies and mechanisms should be studied to ensure that energy efficiency is promoted in the energy sector in general and oil and gas processing in particular. — VNS