Vietnam’s petroleum industry currently focuses on crude oil exports, oil refining, and the provision of various services related to exploration and processing of petroleum products such as gas, chemicals, and fertilizers—serving both the power generation and transportation sectors. There are several reasons to believe the industry will continue to grow strongly in the coming years.
First, the country’s crude oil export value has risen significantly thanks to higher export volumes and global oil prices. With five new oil fields discovered in 2008, Vietnam’s total oil and gas reserves have increased to about 127 million tons. Oil exports remain a major contributor to the national budget—accounting for over 20% of total state revenue. Between 2009 and 2015, PetroVietnam (PVN) planned to invest USD 19 billion to expand oil refining and processing activities, aiming to gradually meet domestic demand.
Second, demand for refined oil products is projected to rise by about 8% annually, while local refineries are increasingly able to meet this need. With the operation of the Dung Quat Refinery, followed by Nghi Son and Long Son Refineries, Vietnam is expected to meet 40% of its refined oil demand within the next one to two years, and 70% within six to seven years.
Third, the LPG and natural gas market remains highly potential, with growing demand for gas, chemicals, and fertilizers—particularly in industrial zones and households—estimated to increase by around 10% per year.
Fourth, supporting industries such as drilling services, engineering, transportation, finance, and insurance for the oil and gas sector are also expanding, both domestically and internationally, in line with increased exploration and production activities. However, the sector’s growth outlook remains closely tied to the broader domestic and global economic context.
Despite these opportunities, challenges remain. Vietnam still imports crude oil and is thus exposed to global oil price fluctuations. As oil is a finite resource, some major fields such as Bach Ho are gradually depleting. In the short term, rising domestic fuel demand (up 14–15% annually) and high import costs pose further difficulties.
Therefore, the future of Vietnam’s petroleum sector depends largely on its ability to discover new reserves, strengthen international cooperation (especially in regions like the Americas and the Middle East), and develop value-added derivatives from petroleum, such as electricity, fertilizers, and petrochemicals.
Turning to petroleum-related stocks, there are currently 23 oil and gas companies listed on the HOSE and HNX exchanges, including those involved in production and trading (e.g., DPM, PET, PGC), technical and drilling services (PVD, PVC, PVS), transportation (VSP, PVT), and financial or insurance services (PVFC, PVI). This group of stocks holds an important position in many investors’ portfolios.
Statistically, the petroleum industry delivers an average return of about 17%, with an asset utilization efficiency of 10% and average profit growth of 20%. Several companies have shown particularly strong performance, including PVD (Petrovietnam Drilling & Well Services Corporation), PSC (Petrolimex Saigon Transportation & Services), PVC (Petrovietnam Drilling Mud and Chemicals), PVFC (Petrovietnam Finance Corporation), and DPM (Petrovietnam Fertilizer & Chemicals).
At present, PVD and PVC yield nearly VND 6,000 EPS per share and continue to show stable growth in both scale and market share, averaging 14% per year. The petroleum stock group is expected to expand further as more PVN subsidiaries go public.
Among PVN’s five wholly owned subsidiaries, PV Gas and PV Power were slated for partial privatization, with PVN retaining over 50% ownership through 2009. Additionally, PVC (Petrovietnam Construction) and PTC (Petrovietnam Tourism – Phuong Dong) planned to list on the HNX in late 2009.
With long-term growth prospects driven by increasing demand for fuel, gas, and petrochemical products, along with rising specialization and investment within the sector, carefully selected petroleum stocks—especially those aligned with market demand and product strength—can provide investors with strong medium- and long-term returns.
(Dau Tu 21/9)
