September 3 marks a milestone for Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam). Since its establishment in 1975, the group has developed a complete and synchronous oil and gas industry, playing an important role in the country’s economic development and taking part in the protection of national sovereignty. Here’s a timeline of PetroVietnam's development over the past 45 years.

September 3, 1975: Vietnam Oil and Gas General Department (formerly Vietnam Oil and Gas Department) was founded by Government Council under Decision No 170.170/CP. It acts as a state-owned official organisation which is tasked with exploring, producing and processing oil and gas from both onshore and offshore fields in Việt Nam.

Oil Well 61 in Thái Bình Province’s Tiền Hải District.— Photos courtesy of PetroVietnam

April 19, 1981: The first gas exploitation took place from Miocene deposit at Tiên Hưng formation through Well 61 in the Tiền Hải C gas field with a rate of 100,000 cubic metres per day and was delivered to the gas turbine generator of a 10MW power plant. This achievement put Việt Nam on the global oil and gas map, raising the prospect for the exploration and exploitation of an energy source for the country. It also laid the foundation for the development of Việt Nam’s oil and gas sector.

May 25, 1984: The first industrial oil well in the Bạch Hổ (White Tiger) field was constructed. The discoveries of Rồng (Dragon) field in 1985 and Đại Hùng (Giant Bear) field in 1988 marked a new area of development of the oil and gas sector.

June 26, 1986: The first batch of crude oil was successfully exploited from White Tiger field which was ranked as one of the largest oil fields in Southeast Asia.

1998: Dinh Cố Gas Processing Plant was put into operation.

Dinh Cố Gas Processing Plant in Bà Rịa-VũngTàu Province.

2004: Phú Mỹ Fertiliser Plant was put into operation. The inauguration of the plant laid the foundation for the development of the petrochemical industry, facilitate the supply of fertiliser as well as contribute to food security.

September 23, 2006: Exploitation of the first tonne of crude oil overseas, Cendor PM-304 field (Malaysia).

December 27, 2008: Inauguration of Cà Mau 1 and Cà Mau 2 Power Plant and PM3-Cà Mau Pipeline. They are the country’s key projects and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group acts as investor of all of them.

January 6, 2011: Dung Quất Oil Refinery - the first petrochemical refinery in the country – was put into operation. Located in Quảng Ngãi Province’s Bình Sơn District, the refinery was a major national project which was expected to boost the development of key economic region of Central Việt Nam.

Dung Quất Oil Refinery - the first petrochemical refinery in the country – was put into operation in 2011

The project reflected the milestone development of PetroVietnam’s fully fledged business model, from exploration to exploitation and processing, from gas to power and fertiliser and high-tech service.

September 17, 2015: Inauguration of Vũng Áng 1 Thermal Power Plant which has output capacity of 1200MW. It was designed to supply around 7.2 billion kWh per year, contributing to regional demand and national electricity system.

2018: Nghi Sơn Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, the country’s second petrochemical facility, began commercial operation.

The project which has total investment of US$9 billion can process 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day (equivalent to 10 million tonnes per year).

2020:  Although facing the so-called “double crisis” – impact of COVID-19 and falling oil price, PetroVietnam still reached total turnover of VNĐ283.5 trillion (US$12.1 billion) in the first six months of this year. It also contributed VNĐ32 trillion ($1.3 billion) to the State Budget.