VietNam Business: PetroVietnam

Showing posts with label PetroVietnam. Show all posts

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Dung Quat refinery faces year-end surplus

Dung Quat refinery faces year-end surplus PetroVietnam, the nation's state-owned oil and gas group, has said that its Dung Quat refinery will face a surplus of around 157,200 cubic meters this year even if local fuel traders try their best to purchase its products.

Petrolimex, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam that owns more than a 50 percent share of the domestic fuel market, plans to buy 273,100 cubic meters this month and at least another 407,300 cubic meters in the next two months, VnExpress reported Monday.

Other traders, including PV Oil, Petec and the jet fuel firm Vinapco, also announced plans to purchase Dung Quat’s products.

PetroVietnam said that, by the end of December, fuel companies will not be able to use up all of their inventory.

On October 4, the group announced that Dung Quat, Vietnam’s first oil refinery, had 750,000 tons of oil and gasoline products in stock and not enough space to store them.

The plant has been running at full capacity, or 30 percent higher than the plan for this year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has ordered PetroVietnam to balance supply and demand in the domestic market next year.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Oil rig safety laws need boosting

Bach Ho oil rig in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Offshore oil and gas operations will be enhanced if tighter safety laws and regular inspections are conducted. — VNA/VNS Photo Ha Thai

HCM CITY — Viet Nam needed to strengthen risk-control aspects of several laws as part of efforts to enhance the safety of offshore oil and gas operations, speakers said at a seminar held in HCM City yesterday.

They also highlighted the need for strict, regular inspections and annual maintenance of all industry facilities.

The seminar, held by the Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), drew the participation of senior Government officials and representatives of oil and gas joint venture companies.

Do Van Hau, deputy director of PetroVietnam, recalled the explosion on British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon rig in April that killed 11 workers and led to the biggest oil spill disaster in world history, dumping 16,000cu.m of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, describing it as a wake-up call.

It prompted State management agencies as well as the domestic oil and gas industry to work harder and ensure safety in all activities related to oil and gas exploration and exploitation, he said.

PetroVietnam and international oil and gas contractors had made great efforts to ensure safety for the people and to protect the environment. So far, there had been no serious accidents, he noted.

Dao Duy Khu from PetroVietnam's Safety, Health and Environment Board said there were currently 15 oil fields under exploitation in the country, including Bach Ho, Rong, Doi Moi, Rang Dong, Lan Tay and Phuong Dong. Viet Nam oil and gas exploitation this year is expected to reach 14.52 million tonnes and 8 million cu.m, respectively.

Khu stressed that offshore oil and gas operations including drilling, exploitation, storage and product transport were all high-risk activities. The main risks were fires, explosions, spills, collisions and natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

State management agencies needed to strengthen risk control aspects of various legal documents including the Oil and Gas law, the Labour law, the Environment Protection Law, the Firefighting and Prevention Law, and the Maritime Law, other speakers said at the seminar.

The agencies should also inspect periodically the implementation of these legal documents.

Nguyen Xuan Hoa of the Oil and Gas Exploitation Board said safety management should cover the quality of designs, operational procedures and environment protection.

Accordingly, all enterprises should evaluate environmental impacts and prepare solutions in case of emergencies, he said. Training courses on safety should be held every year for company staff, he added. — VNS

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Seminar highlights safety in oil & gas industry

Enhancing safety during offshore oil and gas exploration and production
was the main topic of a seminar, hosted by the Vietnam National Oil and
Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 30.

PetroVietnam’s Deputy General Director Do Van Hau recalled the
Deepwater Horizon explosion which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on
April 20, 2010, killing 11 people and triggering the largest-ever oil
spill in the history of oil and gas exploration.

The
incident set off alarm bells throughout the industry and reminded
management agencies and the oil and gas industry to re-examine safety in
the sector, he said.

Hau said that over the past 30
years, PetroVietnam and international contractors have spared no effort
in ensuring the safety of their staff and the environment, stressing
that there have been no serious accidents so far.

However, following the Deepwater Horizon incident, safety in offshore
oil and gas production has become a special concern for the State and a
priority task for the Vietnamese oil and gas industry.

The delegates, including managers and representatives from oil and gas
joint ventures and services companies from Vietnam and overseas,
reviewed and recommended various measures to ensure safety in the
industry.

They also discussed the lessons learnt
from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as well as its impacts on the
international insurance market and the risk management measures and
insurance policies used by oil and gas companies./.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Russia to provide ESPO crude oil for Vietnam

Photo: Reuters

Russia’s TNK-BP Oil Group will provide the first shipment of 100 tons of crude oil for the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) via the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) in November this year.

To this effect, a contract was signed between PV Oil General Director Nguyen Xuan Son and Deputy Chairman of TNK-BP’s Management Board Maksim Barskiy in Moscow on September 29 at the presence of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Deputy PM Hai expressed his hope that the partnership between PV Oil and TNK-BP will further develop and harvest more results in the future.

He stressed that the signing of the ESPO crude oil contract will be the foundation for the two sides to expand cooperation, including the exchange of experiences in crude oil trading and processing.

The Deputy PM declared that the Vietnamese government supports the cooperation between PetroVietnam and TNK-BP in exploring and exploiting oil and gas in the two countries’ territories and in third countries.

PV Oil General Director Nguyen Xuan Son said he hoped that after the signing, TNK-BP will continue to participate in oil processing, refinery and distribution in Vietnam .

The contract was an initial step for the two companies to sign other agreements in order to boost cooperation and mutual investment, he added.

According to PetroVietnam General Director Phung Dinh Thuc, PetroVietnam considers Russia a strategic area and with the contract, TNK-BP has become the third biggest partner of PetroVietnam and PV Oil, after Zarubezhneft and Gazprom.

He informed that the first oil stream resulting from the cooperation between PetroVietnam and Zarubezhneft will run in the next several days.

PetroVietnam has so far signed 20 oil and gas contracts with foreign companies, he added.

Friday, December 24, 2010

PetroVietnam pumps first crude in Russia

A joint venture between PetroVietnam and the Russian oil group of Zarubezhneft has pumped the first crude oil from well in Russia’s autonomous Nenesky region, PetroVietnam has announced.

The Vietnamese oil giant said it was the outcome of two years’ hard working following the establishment of the Rusvietpetro joint venture and one year’s exploration.

In addition to investment in oil well construction and exploration, the joint-venture has built a central oil collection and processing station, installed a system of oil pipes and erected an oil reception and delivery station.

The joint venture is ready to embark on industrial-scale production with an expected output of 3,000 tons of crude a day (equivalent to 21,000 barrels a day).

PetroVietnam signed a deal with Zarubezhneft on December 24, 2008, under which it holds a 49 percent stake in Rusvietpetro to produce oil from four oil fields in Russia ’s autonomous Nenesky region.

Exploration work has detected 13 oil wells estimated to hold up 95.6 million tons of crude.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

PetroVietnam pumps first crude in Russia

A joint venture between PetroVietnam and the Russian oil group of
Zarubezhneft has pumped the first crude oil from well in Russia ’s
autonomous Nenesky region, PetroVietnam has announced.

The Vietnamese oil giant said it was the outcome of two years’ hard
working following the establishment of the Rusvietpetro joint venture
and one year’s exploration.

In addition to
investment in oil well construction and exploration, the joint-venture
has built a central oil collection and processing station, installed a
system of oil pipes and erected an oil reception and delivery station.

The joint venture is ready to embark on
industrial-scale production with an expected output of 3,000 tonnes of
crude a day (equivalent to 21,000 barrels a day).

PetroVietnam signed a deal with Zarubezhneft on December 24, 2008, under
which it holds a 49 percent stake in Rusvietpetro to produce oil from
four oil fields in Russia ’s autonomous Nenesky region.

Exploration work has detected 13 oil wells estimated to hold up 95.6 million tonnes of crude.

The ceremony to celebrate the first oil flow will take place in Russia on September 30./.

Russia to provide ESPO crude oil for Vietnam

Russia ’s TNK-BP Oil Group will provide the first shipment of 100
tonnes of crude oil for the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) via
the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) in November this year.

To this effect, a contract was signed between PV Oil General Director
Nguyen Xuan Son and Deputy Chairman of TNK-BP’s Management Board Maksim
Barskiy in Moscow on September 29 at the presence of Vietnamese
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

Speaking
after the signing ceremony, Deputy PM Hai expressed his hope that the
partnership between PV Oil and TNK-BP will further develop and harvest
more results in the future.

He stressed that the
signing of the ESPO crude oil contract will be the foundation for the
two sides to expand cooperation, including the exchange of experiences
in crude oil trading and processing.

The Deputy PM
declared that the Vietnamese government supports the cooperation
between PetroVietnam and TNK-BP in exploring and exploiting oil and gas
in the two countries’ territories and in third countries.

PV Oil General Director Nguyen Xuan Son said he hoped that after the
signing, TNK-BP will continue to participate in oil processing, refinery
and distribution in Vietnam .

The contract was
an initial step for the two companies to sign other agreements in order
to boost cooperation and mutual investment, he added.

According to PetroVietnam General Director Phung Dinh Thuc,
PetroVietnam considers Russia a strategic area and with the
contract, TNK-BP has become the third biggest partner of PetroVietnam
and PV Oil, after Zarubezhneft and Gazprom.

He
informed that the first oil stream resulting from the cooperation
between PetroVietnam and Zarubezhneft will run in the next several days.

PetroVietnam has so far signed 20 oil and gas contracts with foreign companies, he added./.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Refinery lands 1b USD loan package

PetroVietnam has obtained 1 billion USD in financing for the Dung Quat
Oil Refinery, the Ministry of Finance announced on Sept. 23.

The Vietnam Development Bank will co-ordinate the financing package,
which includes 700 million USD from Government bond proceeds and the
remainder from French bank BNP Paribas, which is extending credit for
the deal through 2020 at an annual interest rate of 3.3 percent,
following a four-year grace period.

PetroVietnam
will borrow the bond proceeds for a 16-year term at a fixed interest
rate of 3.6 percent, following four year's grace.

The ministry has authorised Citibank's Trust Agency in New York to
collect interest on the 700 million USD loan made from Government bond
proceeds, while the Ministry of Finance will make interest payments
directly to BNP Paribas.

The financing will be
allocated to the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant No 1, which began
operating at 100 percent production capacity last month. The plant has
imported 5.7 million tonnes of crude oil and processed nearly 5 million
tonnes so far, delivering over 4.7 million tonnes of refined products to
market.

In order to ensure repayment, Circular No
114/2010/TT-BTC issued by the ministry late Sept. 23 requires
PetroVietnam to give highest priority to servicing the loans under this
package. If it falls past due, the Ministry of Finance will require
other lenders to freeze existing and further credit to the oil giant.

The ministry is preparing further risk-provision plans
to ensure repayment of the 1 billion USD debt at maturity and is
guaranteeing ultimate repayment from the State budget.

However, following the recent troubles of debt-laden shipbuilder
Vinashin, PetroVietnam was expected to set an example as the best
economic group in Vietnam.

Last week, the
Government instructed the Ministry of Finance to consider Vinashin's
request for 300 million USD in Government bond proceeds to service its
debt to French bank Natixis.

If this proposal is
approved, the 1 billion USD in capital raised by Vietnam's second
overseas sale of Government bonds – offering higher yields than the
lower-rated Philippines and Indonesia – would go to Vinashin and
PetroVietnam.

The bonds were expected to offer a yield of 6.95 percent and a nominal interest rate of 6.75 percent.

The bond sale was originally conceived to provide capital for energy
and infrastructure projects that would support growth in an economy
suffering from a shortage of foreign exchange./.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Refinery lands $1 bln loan package

PetroVietnam has obtained US$1 billion in financing for the Dung Quat Oil Refinery, the Ministry of Finance announced Thursday

The Vietnam Development Bank will co-ordinate the financing package, which includes $700 million from Government bond proceeds and the remainder from French bank BNP Paribas, which is extending credit for the deal through 2020 at an annual interest rate of 3.3 percent, following a four-year grace period.

PetroVietnam will borrow the bond proceeds for a 16-year term at a fixed interest rate of 3.6 percent, following four year's grace.

The ministry has authorised Citibank's Trust Agency in New York to collect interest on the $700 million loan made from Government bond proceeds, while the Ministry of Finance will make interest payments directly to BNP Paribas.

The financing will be allocated to the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant No 1, which began operating at 100 percent production capacity last month. The plant has imported 5.7 million tonnes of crude oil and processed nearly 5 million tonnes so far, delivering over 4.7 million tonnes of refined products to market.

In order to ensure repayment, Circular No 114/2010/TT-BTC issued by the ministry late Sept. 23 requires PetroVietnam to give highest priority to servicing the loans under this package. If it falls past due, the Ministry of Finance will require other lenders to freeze existing and further credit to the oil giant.

The ministry is preparing further risk-provision plans to ensure repayment of the $1 billion debt at maturity and is guaranteeing ultimate repayment from the State budget.

However, following the recent troubles of debt-laden shipbuilder Vinashin, PetroVietnam was expected to set an example as the best economic group in Vietnam.

Last week, the Government instructed the Ministry of Finance to consider Vinashin's request for $300 million in Government bond proceeds to service its debt to French bank Natixis.

If this proposal is approved, the $1 billion in capital raised by Vietnam's second overseas sale of Government bonds – offering higher yields than the lower-rated Philippines and Indonesia – would go to Vinashin and PetroVietnam.

The bonds were expected to offer a yield of 6.95 percent and a nominal interest rate of 6.75 percent.

The bond sale was originally conceived to provide capital for energy and infrastructure projects that would support growth in an economy suffering from a shortage of foreign exchange.

Vietnam to delay 2nd refinery tender till Dec

Photo: Reuters

HANOI - State oil and gas group PetroVietnam will delay announcing the winner of a tender to build the 200,000-bpd Nghi Son refinery until December, the official Vietnam News Agency said in a report.

Several bidders have asked to extend the tender deadline for Vietnam's second such facility by four months so that they can better prepare bidding documents, but PetroVietnam only agreed with a delay by "two months and a half to ensure the project's progress," the report seen on Thursday said.

It was published by the agency's online news distributing arm, Vietnam Plus (www.vietnamplus.vn), quoting the state oil group.

In June, an official of PetroVietnam-run Nghi Son Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Co was quoted in a state media report as saying the firm planned to sign the engineering, procurement and construction contract with the winning bidder in October.

The Vietnam News Agency said so far three consortiums of companies from Japan, France, Italy, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan have submitted bids for the tender. It did not name any firms.

PetroVietnam has been developing the refinery in Nghi Son of the northern province of Thanh Hoa, 215 kilometers south of Hanoi, in a venture with Kuwait Petroleum International, Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co and Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

Construction of the Nghi Son refinery was initially scheduled to be completed in late 2013. The Vietnam News Agency report said the refinery will start commercial production in 2014, as scheduled. It did not give an exact date.

Last Friday Idemitsu Kosan said it has delayed the projected start of operations of the Nghi Son plant to sometime in 2014, reflecting a slight delay involving a final investment decision by the end of March 2011 from 2010.

Idemitsu Kosan and Kuwait Petroleum International each hold a 35.1 percent stake in the venture, while PetroVietnam owns 25.1 percent and Mitsui Chemicals has the remaining 4.7 percent.

Once operational, the new refinery and 140,000-bpd Dung Quat, Vietnam's first oil refinery, will together meet 80 percent of domestic oil product consumption.

Vietnam aims to be self-sufficient in oil products by 2015, also with the 240,000-bpd Long Son refinery to be built by 2014 in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

PetroVietnam signs agreement with 3 foreign banks

Representatives of PetroVietnam and three foreign banks sign the ISDA agreements in Hanoi on Thursday - Photo: Thanh Huong

HANOI – PetroVietnam on Thursday signed three agreements with BNP Paribas, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Standard Chartered Bank in Hanoi to set up principles for future derivatives transactions as a way to hedge against risks of forex rates and commodities prices among others.

The national oil and gas group said the contracts signed were a protocol of ISDA Master Agreement 2002 compiled by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.

Nguyen Tien Dung, deputy general director of PetroVietnam, said the signing would help the group limit negative impacts from forex changes, prevent risks in terms of interest rate, exchange rate, and commodity prices and diversify the group’s financial activities.

The use of derivatives tools would enable PetroVietnam to meet the huge need of large capital for its projects, as well as save costs and time in financial management.

ISDA is the largest international commercial financial institution worldwide in terms of the number of members. Signing an ISDA Master agreement is a must for all sides before conducting any derivatives transaction for standardization of legal procedures. All parties in an ISDA agreement do not need to study many procedures to save cost and time whenever there is a derivatives transaction among them.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

PetroVietnam Gas to raise $301 mln in share sale

PetroVietnam Gas to raise $301 mln in share sale PetroVietnam Gas Corp., a unit of Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, plans to raise at least VND5.87 trillion (US$301 million) in an initial share sale that may take place next month, General Director Do Khang Ninh said in an interview.

The company will sell 189.5 million shares, or a 10 percent stake, with a minimum bid of VND31,000 a share, Ninh said in a telephone interview Monday. Ho Chi Minh City-based PetroVietnam Gas will also sell a stake of about 15 percent to strategic investors, Ninh said. The company is still in the process of finding these partners, Ninh said.

“After the share sale we will gauge how the stock market is doing and choose a timing for the listing that is beneficial to shareholders,” Ninh said. PetroVietnam Gas will probably be listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the country’s main bourse, a year after the share sale, according to a statement filed on the company’s website.

The benchmark VN Index gained 1.6 percent to 466 at the 11 a.m. close, the highest since Aug. 9. The gauge dropped as much as 23 percent from its May 6 peak through Aug. 25, exceeding the 20 percent drop which analysts define as a bear market, as the third devaluation of the dong since November spurred concern the government would add to measures to plug the nation’s deficit.

PetroVietnam Gas, which supplies fuel to produce 40 percent of Vietnam’s electrical output and 30 percent of the nation’s fertilizer, expects revenue to reach VND31 trillion this year from VND28.3 trillion in 2009, according to the statement on its website. Net income will be about VND3 trillion, down from last year’s profit of VND3.2 trillion.

PetroVietnam Gas to raise $301 mln in share sale

Friday, October 1, 2010

PetroVietnam to join Russia’s Eastern Gas Program

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller

Photo: AFP

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) is likely to take part in the Eastern Gas Program coordinated by Russia’s energy giant Gazprom.

The issue was discussed at the first meeting of the Gazprom-PetroVietnam Joint Coordinating Committee, which concluded in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday.

Co-chaired by Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Ananenkov and PetroVietnam Vice President Nguyen Tien Dung, the meeting highly valued the joint work of both Gazprom and PetroVietnam on exploration of the continental shelf of Vietnam as well as prospects for bilateral cooperation in oil and gas projects in Russia and third countries.

Gazprom and PetroVietnam have effectively cooperated in a number of oil and gas projects in Vietnam and created a joint venture, Gazpromviet, to develop projects in Russia and third countries.

The Eastern Gas Program, which was approved in September 2007, is to create a single system of gas production and transportation in Russia’s Eastern Siberia and Far East with possible exports to the markets of China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Program also includes the construction of the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok transportation system, which will provide “green energy” for Russia’s Far East.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

PetroVietnam targets stronger growth

HA NOI — The achievements of the Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in the 35 years since it was established have made it one of the country's leading economic groups and helped it keep pace with other big petroleum corporations in the region and throughout the world.

These comments were in a letter from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to congratulate PetroVietnam on its 35 years of construction and development yesterday.

Dung wrote that employers and employees of the industry had attempted to overcome many difficulties and hardships to successfully implement the tasks assigned by the Party and State and contribute to the nation's achievements.

He said the organisation had developed rapidly and comprehensively in the areas of exploration, exploitation, transportation, and export and had developed many important technologies.

PetroVietnam had also actively protected national sovereignty, boundaries and social welfare, he wrote.

General Director of PetroVietnam Phung Dinh Thuc said Viet Nam ranked third in Southeast Asia in crude oil production with 15-17 million tonnes of oil and 8-10 billion cubic metres of gas each year.

PetroVietnam currently contributes around 20-30 per cent of the total State budget revenue and 18-20 per cent to GDP thanks to an average growth rate of nearly 20 per cent annually, according to Thuc.

The group also managed to increase its business through 49 investment agreements with a number of countries across the world, of which 22 contracts have been implemented in 13 countries.

PVN Chairman Dinh La Thang said the group had taken measures on human resources, science and technology and management of work to reach its target of becoming a strong economic corporation with an average growth rate of 18-20 per cent per year in the period of 2010-15. — VNS

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Petrovietnam reviewing possible bid for BP asset

Photo: AFP

SEOUL - Vietnam's state oil group PetroVietnam is still reviewing whether to bid for BP's stake in a gas project within the country, Vice President Do Van Hau told Reuters on Tuesday.

"We haven't asked the government to approve. We are still considering what we are going to do," he said on the sidelines of a conference in Seoul.

He was speaking in reaction to an online newspaper report early this month that Hanoi-based Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, better known as PetroVietnam, plans to bid for the asset once it obtains government approval.

"We don't have a decision yet. We are reviewing it," he added.

BP plans to sell its 35 percent stake in the Nam Con Son gas project as part of its goal of selling $30 billion in assets over the next 18 months to cover costs for containing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

PetroVietnam has a 20 percent stake while India's state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp holds 45 percent.

Indian Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan said late last month that ONGC and PetroVietnam would submit a joint formal offer within weeks to buy BP's asset.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

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