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Crude oil output down in first seven months
Vietnam’s crude oil output in the first seven months of 2008 decreased 6 percent year-on-year.
Nearly 8.57 million tons of crude oil were tapped here in the period, accounting for 53.5 percent of the full year target.
In July the country pumped over 1.21 million tons of crude oil, down 3.7 percent from June, according to the Trade Information Center under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The National Vietnam Oil and Gas Group is considering oil cooperation with countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Egypt, Tunisia, India, Angola and Cameroon, and strengthening cooperation with foreign partners to exploit the resource.
In the first seven months the country’s crude oil export earnings gained 52.2 percent year-on-year, despite a 12.1 percent drop in export volume, because of higher prices, according to the General Statistics Office.
Vietnam shipped 7.8 million tons of crude oil worth $6.8 billion, mainly to China, Singapore, Japan and the United States, in the period.
The average world oil price in in 2008 so far was high, at $860 per ton or $114 per barrel, the center said.
The country would reduce fossil fuel exports such as crude oil and coal to ensure supplies for domestic oil refineries and energy-thirsty industries like electricity and cement.
Vietnam’s first oil refinery with an annual processing capacity of 6.5 million tons, which is under construction in central Quang Ngai Province, is scheduled for operation next February.
Thanhnien
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