PVN on course to hit annual targets

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It held a press conference to report its business results so far this year and its plan for the last quarter.

According to PetroVietnam's deputy director Le Minh Hong, the group had basically fulfilled its goals for the nine-month period and was looking to extend its success to the end of the year.

In the reviewed period, it increased oil and gas reserves to 21.81 million tonnes while oil output reached 19.8 million tonnes, up 2.4 per cent over the same period last year.

Petrol production hit 4.93 million tonnes, equivalent to 91.4 per cent of the annual target and up 27.7 per cent year-on-year.

PetroVietnam contributed VND128 trillion ($6.095 billion) to the State budget in the period, Hong said.

In the last quarter of this year, it plans to put three mines into operation, start construction on the Nghi Son Oil Refinery in October and connect the Vung Ang 1 Thermoelectric Plant to the power grid in December.

Regarding the restructuring of the coporation, Chairman Phung Dinh Thuc said that the work was progressing following a project approved by the Prime Minister.

However, the withdrawal of capital from non-core businesses was slow due to difficult economic conditions.

Statistics showed that the group poured VND5.8 trillion ($276.19 million) into non-core businesses, making up a small part of the group's equity at VND300 trillion ($14.29 billion).

Its overseas investments were estimated at $6.5 billion, $1.8 billion of which had been disbursed. Thuc said that PetroVietnam and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) had also agreed on EVN's debt repayment plan, which would be submitted to the Government for approval.

Under the plan, EVN must first make an immediate payment of VND2.650 trillion ($126.19 million) to PetroVietnam out of its VND9.650 trillion ($459.53 million) debt.

The remaining VND7 trillion would be paid in installments over the next seven years subject to interest rates regulated by the Government.