A view of Vietsovpetro port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. Vietsovpetro has exploited five million tonnes of crude oil in 2016. — Photo VNA

Russia and Viet Nam’s oil and gas exploration joint venture Vietsovpetro has exploited five million tonnes of crude oil in 2016.

This generated yearly revenue of more than US$1.7 billion, a slump of 28 per cent year-on-year.

The company contributed over $680 million to the State Budget, some $300 million less than last year.

The Russian partner posted profit of $121 million, while the Viet Nam side made profit of nearly $126 million, a year-on-year decrease of 71 per cent for both sides against last year.

According to Vietsovpetro, the main reason for this year’s decline in production was due to the lower oil price. The average oil price this year stands at $45 per barrel, $9 less than in 2015. In addition, the oil reserve in existing mines also continues to decline gradually even as technology has degraded quickly.

In 2016, Vietsopetro provided ashore some 1.68 billion cu.m. of gas, representing 130 per cent of the yearly plan, bringing the total amount of gas shipped ashore, so far, to over 30.9 billion cu.m.

Due to the low oil prices, the company has also been forced to fire more than 500 workers in 2016, while the income of employees decreased by 20 per cent over the previous year. — VNS