An offshore-oilrig on the country's contiential shelf. — Photo petrotimes.vn

National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) earned VND367.2 trillion (equivalent to US$16.5 billion) in revenue in the first 10 months of 2016.

This was five per cent higher than the target set for the period and fulfilling 84 per cent of its yearly goal.

The group’s after-tax profit hit VND18 trillion (some $800 million), 11 per cent higher than the target set for the year.

In the period, PetroVietnam’s subsidiaries exploited 23.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent, equal to 91.3 per cent of the annual target.

Production of other products also surpassed targets for the reviewed period, with electricity; nitrate and gasoline outputs achieving 17.6 billion KWh, 1.3 million tonnes and 5.6 million tonnes, respectively.

A sharp drop in oil prices has impacted PetroVietnam’s revenue, profits and exploitation and production activities. The group has also met with difficulties in performing several key investment projects.

However, the group has taken many measures to better its administration and production, focusing on financial, business and market management and investment plans.

It plans to exploit 6.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent, including 3.9 million tonnes of crude oil and 2.6 billion cu.m. of gas in the fourth quarter of this year.

The plan aims to lift total output in the year to 27.6 million tonnes of products, raking in VND514 .5 trillion ($23.15 billion) in revenue and contributing VND104.2 trillion ($4.7 billion) to the State budget. – VNS