Petrol firms anticipate strong year

Petrol firms anticipate strong year

The Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) will hasten its process of restructuring in 2014, with 80 per cent of planned reform completed last year.

With some 6,200 outlets nationwide, the group operates in various areas ranging from petroleum and gas to insurance, transportation and services.

According to Petrolimex General Director Tran Van Thinh, the group contributed VND31.3 trillion (roughly US$1.4 billion) to the State budget last year, representing a year-on-year rise of 14 percent.

Holding about 52 per cent of the market share, the group mainly focuses in mountainous and midland areas, especially those where the socio-economic situation remains unstable, he said.

The Petrolimex leader added that the group accounts for up to 90 per cent of the market share in the poor localities. Meanwhile, the figure stands at only 30-40 per cent in HCM City and Mekong Delta provinces.

The Russia-Viet Nam oil and gas joint venture, Vietsovpetro, has set a target of pumping up 5.1 million tonnes of crude oil, raking in more than $3.8 billion in 2014.

Tu Thanh Nghia, Vietsovpetro General Director, said at 2014 task conference yesterday that the joint venture earned $4.75 billion in 2013, $1.05 billion higher than the set target.

The joint venture contributed $2.89 billion to the State budget, he said, adding that its performance in drilling, exploitation and reserve increase exceeded from 3 per cent to 40 per cent compared with the targets.

Thanks to an array of solutions, the joint venture exploited nearly 5,600 tonnes of oil, 156,000 tonnes higher than the yearly target, Nghia said.

Along with $187 million earned from other services, the joint venture had, for the first time, seen its spending on production drop compared with the previous year with a year-on-year decrease of over $60 million, he said.

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