Hanoi, 9 September: Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), Malaysia’s national petroleum corporation, today celebrates its 10th year of operation in Vietnam. To mark this special occasion, PETRONAS has lined up a series of activities to be held here and in Ho Chi Minh City.
The highlight of these activities is the launch today in Hanoi of PETRONAS’ 10th Anniversary in Vietnam celebrations by Vietnam’s Minister of Industry, His Excellency Mr Dang Vu Chu. This will be followed by a series of public exhibitions, cultural performances as well as community relations projects at selected venues in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. There will also be appreciation dinners for employees of PETRONAS in Vietnam for their support and loyalty.
PETRONAS first entered Vietnam in 1991 when its subsidiary PETRONAS Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd signed a Production Sharing Contract on 9 September with PETROVIETNAM, the national oil corporation of Vietnam, for Blocks 01 and 02 offshore Vung Tau. Commercial production of the Ruby Field, located within the two blocks, commenced in 1998. Current production rate of Ruby stands at about 24,000 barrels per day. The 1991 PSC also marked the starting point of PETRONAS’ venture into the international oil and gas arena, as PETRONAS’ successful operatorship of the two blocks built its confidence to further expand to other countries.
In the downstream sector, PETRONAS and Vietnam Gas has a 49:51 joint venture to import, store, bottle and market liquefied petroleum gas in Vietnam. The joint venture has built an LPG export terminal and bottling facility in Haiphong with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year. In the petrochemical business, PETRONAS has a 50 percent interest in Phu My Plastics & Chemicals Ltd, a joint venture with PETROVIETNAM (43 percent) and Tramatsuco (7 percent) to construct and operate a polyvinyl chloride plant in Baria-Vung Tau Province. The US$70 million plant, which will have a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed late next year.
PETRONAS is also involved in trading activities in Vietnam through its subsidiaries PETRONAS Trading Corporation Sdn Bhd and Malaysian International Trading Corporation Sdn Bhd.
Business asides, PETRONAS has also kept its commitment as a caring corporate citizen by initiating a localisation programme for its Vietnamese workforce where employees are trained and prepared to eventually take over tasks and responsibilities at work and in plants operation. Through its community relations programmes, PETRONAS has also reached out to many underprivileged Vietnamese through scholarships, donations, community projects and other related activities.
Issued by PETRONAS
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