The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has reported oil equivalent output of 8.99 million tonnes in the first five months of 2020, 4.4% higher than its target.

Gas exploitation at Su Tu Trang field 

In May, crude oil output reached 0.96 million tonnes, 2.1% higher than the monthly plan while gas production fulfilled the monthly goal at 0.84 billion cu.m.

The firm generated 2.05 billion kWh of electricity and produced 149,800 tonnes of nitrogenous fertiliser, surpassing the monthly targets by 4.7% and 4.2%, respectively.

Its production of oil and petroleum exceeded 1.01 million tonnes during the month, only equivalent to 91.5% of the monthly goal, largely because the Nghi Son Oil Refinery were cutting capacity for maintenance and the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) reduced production of petroleum as demand dropped.

The company has made drastic efforts to cut nearly VND8.7 trillion in costs during the first five months of the year to deal with declining oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.

From January to May, the State-owned enterprise earned VND124.2 trillion (US$5.33 billion) in revenue, down 29% from a year earlier. Its post-tax profit nosedived 49% year on year to VND7.1 trillion.