Prime Minister Dung urges further fossil fuel exploration

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has proposed that PetroVietnam and Vietsovpetro expand their exploration to increase oil and gas reserves, to ensure energy security, promote exports and increase State budget income.

PM Dung made the proposal at the celebration of the 30 th anniversary of the agreement signing between Viet Nam and the former Soviet Union on the establishment of Vietsovpetro, an oil and gas joint-venture enterprise, 25 years after extracting the first tonne of oil in Viet Nam’s continental shelf.

During 30 years of implementation of the 1981 Inter-Governmental Agreement and the Viet Nam-Soviet Union and Viet Nam-Russia Agreements on oil and gas joint-venture, the staff of Viet Nam’s oil and gas sector, with Soviet Union and Russian colleagues, developed Vietsovpetro into a leading oil and gas industry.

Vietsovpetro, which now employs almost 7,000 people, nearly 180 of whom are MAs and PhD degree holders, helped open a new development period for Viet Nam’s oil and gas sector.

The joint-venture was the focus of inventions and applications of the latest technologies and human resource training.

Since the first tonne of crude oil was extracted in 1986, the joint-venture has tapped more than 193 million tonnes of crude oil and more than 23 billion cubic metres of associated gas. Such important contributions ensure the nation’s energy security, while the large number of exports increases income for Viet Nam and Russia’s State budgets.

With 30 years of oil and gas exploration, production and scientific research at sea and on the continental shelf, Vietsovpetro, made important contributions to affirming, preserving and defending Viet Nam’s sacred sovereignty over the East Sea.

Dung commended Russian friends, particularly former Soviet Union and Russian oil senior cadres, scientists and experts, for their contributions to building and developing Vietsovpetro and the nation’s oil and gas sector.

He suggested PetroVietnam and Vietsovpetro prioritise exploration activities in offshore areas of Vietnam ‘s continental shelf, and actively seek opportunities to open operational areas in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and other countries.

Sound advice

Also yesterday Dung had a working session with senior leaders from the south-eastern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to review the province’s socio-economic performance and plan for the second half of the year.

He was full of praise for achievements gained by the provincial Party Committee, administration and people, noting efforts to curb inflation, stabilise the macro economy and ensure social security.

He cautioned the province about difficulties and challenges that it may face in the second half of 2011, particularly high inflation and an unstable macro economy.

Dung asked the province to enhance its comparative advantages in oil and gas production, tourism, port services and other sectors to surpass the 2011 socio-economic targets set out by the provincial Party Congress.

He also asked the provincial leadership to seek all measures to stabilise the prices of essential commodities and to avoid goods speculation.

He said economic development must go hand in hand with work on solving social issues, health care, poverty reduction, social security and environmental protection.

He asked the province to pay more attention to development of human resources, particularly high quality human resources – a very important factor in the country’s industrialisation and modernisation as well as development of rural areas.

Nguyen Tuan Minh, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said that during the first six months of 2011, the province was able to save VND76 billion (US$3.7 million) from its recurrent spending and VND55 billion ($ 2.7 million) from asset procurement using State capital.

In the period under review, the province generated more than 17,000 new jobs and more than 7,000 poor households were given access to credit to improve their livelihoods.

“In the past six months, Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s economic growth increased by nearly 12 per cent while the value of industrial production increased by 14 per cent and services by almost 33 per cent,” Minh said, adding “export revenue – excluding oil and gas, was nearly $670 million, an increase of 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Earlier, PM Dung visited the construction site where workers and engineers are building Viet Nam’s first self-lifting oil platform, one of the country’s key projects. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam fuel, Vietnam fuel prices