Petrovietnam takes lead in international cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) is considered a pioneer economic group in international cooperation and investment expansion abroad. PV has a total of 11 oil and gas contracts currently in the implementation phase in nine countries and territories worldwide.

Over the past 50 years of development, the oil and gas industry is one of the country's main economic sectors contributing to ensuring national energy security. It also serves to protect national sovereignty at sea, and was one of the nation’s pioneering sectors in international cooperation, helping Vietnam rapidly integrate into the world economy.

After 1975, with the collaboration of foreign partners, the sector established a series of partnerships and cooperation, mainly in the field of training. The first team of petroleum technicians in Vietnam were formally trained at famous Soviet universities. In addition, popular universities of Azerbaijan, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and France, among other nations also trained many key technical staff for the Vietnamese sector.

In 1986, the first tonne of commercial oil was extracted from Bach Ho (White Tiger) oil field, which is operated by the Vietnam-Russia oil and gas joint venture Vietsovpetro. The landmark event put Vietnam on the list of oil and gas producing countries in the world, marking a solid step forward to a promising future for the local industry.

During the 1988 – 1990 period, Petrovietnam signed seven petroleum product sharing contracts (PSCs) with leading oil and gas companies in the world, creating opportunities for many more to be sealed later. In 1992, the group inked dozens of oil and gas exploration and production contracts with international partners.

Cooperation between PetroVietnam and international partners were initially limited to oil and gas exploration and production projects. Along with expanding its scale of operations, the group broadened the scope of such collaboration to such fields as construction, oil and gas processing, and oilfield technology and services.  

In 1995, Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and established diplomatic relations with the United States, ushering in a new period of cooperation development between Petrovietnam and US oil corporations and ASEAN nations. It marked the rise of the group in seeking opportunities and investing in oil and gas exploration and production in foreign nations such as Russia, Malaysia, and Algeria, in addition to attracting foreign direct investment in growing the industry at home.

In September 2006, Vietnam secured the first tonne of crude oil exploited in Malaysia. The milestone marked the success of PetroVietnam's overseas investment in oil and gas exploration and production. The move contributed to the increase in oil production output of the entire industry and help ensure national energy security.

In the 2006 – 2007 period, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group completed the development of a strategy for overseas investment and oil and gas diplomacy. In the early stages, the implementation of Petrovietnam's offshore investment activities faced many difficulties. However, thanks to the high determination and timely resolution of the Government and the active support of relevant ministries and sectors, such operations are growing and yielding many successful outcomes.

In a word, the group has built itself into a prestigious domestic and international brand with a scientific and technological level similar to that of developed countries. It boasts a large scale, highly competitive and significant international integration. The company has a growing team of highly skilled professional technicians and managers.

In the strategic vision of the oil and gas industry toward 2035, proactive international integration is the main task of PetroVietnam to transform into a key economic sector with high competitiveness and strength in finance, science and technology./.