“We cannot export crude oil for ever because by doing so we will lose a great source of revenue for the country,” said Mr Dung at an inauguration ceremony of the Oil and Gas Group in Hanoi on January 29. “To overcome this, it is imperative to speed up the construction of the Dung Quat petrochemical industrial zone and several other oil refineries to process oil and gas and related products for local consumption and export.”

He told the group to complete the construction of the Ca Mau Gas-Power and Nitrogenous Fertiliser industrial zone on schedule to supply additional sources of electricity and fertilizers for national development.

“We are now having favourable conditions to complete these projects early, i.e. the country’s human potential and increased position in the international arena,” said Mr Dung.

The PM asked the group to continue exploring and exploiting the potential of the Vietnamese continental shelf as well as expanding its activities abroad to increase its revenue. The group was urged to quickly develop services from transportation, storage and distribution to mechanical services as big global oil and gas groups do. He pointed out that the group’s services now make up only 15 percent of its total revenue while the figure of many global groups is 30 percent.