PetroVietnam strives to overcome difficulties and maintain stable business activities

PetroVietnam CEO Le Manh Hung chaired a meeting with leaders from subsidiaries

In October, the COVID-19 epidemic continued to weigh on many countries, driving oil prices to a very low rate. The average global price of crude oil in October decreased sharply against September. The average price of Brent oil was $40.5 per barrel during the month.

The average price of crude oil exported and sold by PetroVietnam in October 2020 reached $41.1 per barrel, down about $2.58 compared to September.

The average crude oil price in the first 10 months of 2020 was $43.9 per barrel, much lower than the planned price of $60 per barrel.

Besides, the demand for energy consumption in the country has decreased sharply due to the pandemic, natural disasters, and storms.

Facing these difficulties, the leadership and staff of PetroVietnam have synchronously deployed a range of solutions which helped keep the business stable.

The oil output in the first 10 months of 2020 was estimated at 17.32 million tonnes, the annual plan by 2.3 per cent.

The group's revenue was estimated at VND464.5 trillion ($20.1 billion), reaching 83 per cent of the plan.

The entire group's state budget contribution was estimated at VND 58.3 trillion ($2.5 billion), 86 per cent of the plan.

Regarding the fertiliser market, although domestic urea prices remained low, sales were slow due to market shocks as well as the long-term effects of storms and floods.

In October and the first 10 months of 2020, despite strongly impacted with many challenges, Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) remained stable business.

However, thanks to the dynamism in detecting and taking advantage of export opportunities, the October consumption of Phu My and Ca Mau fertiliser factories remained positive.

PVFCCo (the developer of the Phu My facility) reached 100 per cent of the monthly output while PVCFC (the developer of the Ca Mau factory) reached 130 per cent of the monthly plan, mainly due to export orders.

With good consumption, the fertiliser output of the group remained high. October performance exceeded the plan by 42.7 per cent and in the first 10 months, the group exceeded the plan by 11.9 per cent of the plan.

In addition, all units throughout the group are also seriously implementing measures to cope with the double shocks (the COVID-19 pandemic and the strong decrease in oil prices).

In the first 10 months of 2020, the whole group reduced expenses by VND8.1 trillion ($352 million), reaching 87 per cent of the target for the whole year.

Assessing the situation for the remainder of the year is still very difficult, said PetroVietnam CEO Le Manh Hung, ordering member units to review plans for the remaining two months and make the best effort to complete the 2020 plan and prepare for 2021.