Viet Nam’s PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV OIL) is running profitably in Laos, with average revenues of over US$100 million and a contribution of over $20 million to the host country’s budget a year.

Vietnamplus.vn quoted Nguyen Kim Son, Director of PV OIL Laos, as saying that the company established a presence in 16 out of Laos’s 18 provinces, accounting for 20 percent of petroleum retail sales and becoming the second largest petroleum retailer in Laos.

An initial investment of $4 million yielded a profit of $12 million a year after seven years of operation. It is providing jobs for about 2,000 Lao people at its petrol stations nationwide.

PV OIL Laos has officially operated in Laos from December 1, 2010, on the foundation of the retail unit of Royal Dutch Shell. Its initial 70 petrol stations have so far been increased to 104. — VNS