PetroVietnam fulfills key business goals ahead of schedule

Oil and gas exploitation at Bach Ho Oil Field. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has fulfilled key business targets for 2019 in terms of oil and gas production, total revenue, after-tax profit and State budget contribution before the year-end.

According to PetroVietnam, the group has so far gained total revenue of over 685 trillion VND (over 29.69 billion USD), 11.9 percent higher than the year’s plan. The figure is expected to reach 708.5 trillion VND for the full year, surpassing the yearly plan by 16 percent.

The company contributed 97.21 trillion VND to the State budget, exceeding the plan by 11.1 percent. The figure is likely to hit 104 trillion VND by the year-end, 18.8 percent higher than the target.

All other business results surpassed the plan by 5 – 8 percent, for example, domestic oil exploitation (7.5 percent higher), gas exploitation (8 percent), fertiliser production (8 percent) and electricity production (5.5 percent).

During the period, PetroVietnam has strived to reach the targets against the backdrop of declining price of Brent crude oil which was fluctuating around 60 – 62 USD per barrel, much lower than the projected level of 65 USD per barrel. Its exploitation activities have also been affected by complicated developments in the East Sea.

The group has attributed the outstanding results to efforts of its member companies to overfulfill the goals, particularly PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), PetroVietnam Gas JSC (PVGas), Russia – Vietnam joint venture Rusvietpetro, PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVTrans), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) and PetroVietnam Insurance (PVI).

Workers at Nam Con Son gas processing plant. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Last year, PVEP has completed its yearly plan to exploit 4.33 million tonnes of oil equivalent earlier than scheduled. This was the 10th consecutive year that PVEP has achieved its goal ahead of the year-end.

PVEP’s total oil output is estimated to reach 4.45 million tonnes for the full year, surpassing the plan by 3 percent. The corporation is expected to sell 1.32 billion cubic metres of gas, also exceeding the annual target by 3 percent. Its post-tax profit is estimated at 6.35 trillion VND, surpassing the plan by 54 percent.

In 2018, PetroVietnam reported that its total volume of oil and gas exploitation amounted to 23.98 million equivalent tonnes, exceeding the yearly target by 5 percent. Its total revenue reached 626.8 trillion VND, an increase of 26 percent compared to 2017, and it contributed 121.3 trillion VND to the State budget, up 24 percent year-on-year.

Last November, Fitch Ratings assigned PetroVietnam first-time long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at 'BB' with a positive outlook.

This is a positive credit rating that will help PetroVietnam improve its ability to mobilise capital in the international market and diversify capital sources for investment projects in the context of restrictions for loans guaranteed by the Government.

This showed PetroVietnam’s strong financial status and business performance as well as its bright business prospects, instilling confidence in domestic and foreign investors, financial institutions and strategic partners, especially during the group’s restructuring process.

The State-owned group maintained its top position in the list of the top 500 most profitable enterprises in Vietnam 2019 announced by the Vietnam Report.

The PetroVietnam Securities Inc (PSI) estimated that the group and its member unites will need about 26.7 billion USD in investment capital from 2018 – 2020. Of the amount, loans accounted for more than 30 percent through traditional credit and bond issuances.

Urgent projects such as Thai Binh 2 Thermal Power Plant, Long Phu 1 Thermal Power Plant, Block B-O Mon Gas Project, Blue Whale Gas Project and Sao Vang – Dai Nguyet Gas Project, will require 4 billion USD./.