The fall is attributed to a downward trend of the global oil market this year, hovering around US$60/barrel, or US$42/barrel lower than the average level in 2008.

At a meeting in Hanoi on September 4, PetroVietnam revealed that the country earned only US$4.6 billion from exporting crude oil in the past 8 months. It aims to pump up 15 million tonnes of crude oil next year, of which 9.43 million tonnes will be exported. Another five million tonnes will be provided to the Dung Quat oil refinery – the first of its kind in Vietnam, and 0.59 million tonnes will be tapped overseas for sales.

To meet the target, PetroVietnam will work oil and gas contractors to speed up the exploration and exploitation of oil fields inside and outside the country, focusing on Africa, Latin America, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Southeast Asia.

The group proposed that it keep half of its net profit to invest in a number of key oil exploration projects.