Hanoi (VNA) - In the second half of 2022, the Vietnam Oiland Gas Group (PetroVietnam) will continue to keep a close watch on marketdevelopments. The goal is to monitor world crude oil prices and marketfluctuations to optimise reserves and operate oil production efficiently to stayin the black.

Opportunities brought into full play, helping crudeoil exploitation exceed target by 22%

The world’s crude oil price dropped sharply in July and remainson a downward trend. The average price of Brent crude oil in July fell 9%month-on-month. In early August, the price continued to decline and fell to thelowest level since before the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The average price of petroleum products last month alsodecreased by 13-22% compared to that in June. In addition, the mobilisation ofgas-fueled power is still low compared to the plan, and in the coming months, thedemand for gas used in power generation is forecast to decrease due to therainy season. Priority will be given to mobilising hydroelectricity to power theelectrical grid.

Monitoring the oil price frontier has helped PetroVietnam utiliseaccurate forecasts and execute timely and flexible responses to priceadjustments. The group has promoted the effectiveness of resources in the valuechain to minimise damage from negative impacts, seizing market opportunitieswhen they arise, and maintaining stable production and business activities toachieve high efficiency.

Crude oil exploitation reached 900,000 tonnes in July, exceeding the plan by 19%. This brings the total figure in the first seven months to 6.38million tonnes, surpassing the plan by 22% and equal to 73% of the yearlytarget.

Petroleum and nitrogen production exceeded theplan by 8% and 9%, respectively. Production and supply of gas, electricity and other energyproducts are all at a high level. This meets the market demand and contributesto stabilising the market and the macro-economy, ensuring national energysecurity and economic growth. Production and business in these fields bothrecorded positive results.

With efficient production and business activities, the group'stotal revenue during January-July 2022 is estimated at 547.7 trillion VND (23.4billion USD). These numbers are 64% higher than the plan and 56% higher than the figure in the sameperiod of 2021. In the period, PetroVietnam contributed 79.6 trillion VND tothe budget, surpassing the plan by 74%, up 47% year-on-year.

Focusing on fluctuation governance in last five months

PetroVietnam General Director Le Manh Hung said difficulties remainin the second half of the year, as the world economy has increasingly shown signsof recession. The group will continue following market and macroeconomicindicators, focusing on fluctuation governance, controlling risks of inflation tomoderate oil production at optimal performance.

Accordingly, PetroVietnam and its member units are focusing onincreasing reserves to achieve exploitation outputs at the highest level. Theyare also focused on intensifying solutions to expand the market, especially themarket for gas products, oil refinery, fertilizers, and technical services. Thegroup will continue to strengthen linkage chains and promote investment to controlrisks and take advantage of opportunities to increase scale and implementinvestment strategies and key projects.

In addition, PetroVietnam continues to carry out long-termscientific research and development projects, creating a steppingstone for thegroup's products and industries as the traditional field is affected by energytransitions.

The group will also focus on effectively implementing a digitaltransformation project, building smart factories, and building a big database.

In addition, it will continue to closely coordinate with relevantagencies to draft, appraise and complete the draft Petroleum Law (amended), andadjust legal documents for oil and gas activities to create a legal corridorfor the industry to grow in the new context./.