Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) to focus on five business areas this year, with oil and gas survey and exploitation as the core.

The primary goal is to increase the output and reserves of oil and gas, contributing to national energy security. Any underfunded projects should be brought to the attention of the government to develop creative solutions, he said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade was assigned to ensure the progress of relevant projects in the gas industry as PetroVietnam effectively operates gas facilities and steps up power generation projects, especially in the supervisory, construction and bidding stages.

PetroVietnam is responsible for upgrading the Dung Quat refinery plant, accelerating projects on the Nghi Son oil refinery and petrochemical complex and the Long Son refinery complex, and safely operating other refinery and bio-fuel plants as indicated in its 2015 targets.

PetroVietnam’s firms in oil and gas should work to improve their capacity and extend cooperation with overseas markets.

The Deputy PM demanded PetroVietnam fine-tune its 2025 development strategy, including specifying its comparative advantages and disadvantages with regional partners, especially with the Malaysia oil and gas corporation Petronas, and devising ways to eliminate development gaps.

It was also urged to rapidly restructure its operations, per mandates from the Prime Minister.

PetroVietnam’s crude oil, gas, electricity, fertiliser and petroleum generated 745.5 trillion VND (35.5 billion USD) last year, 11.8 percent over its yearly target.-VNA