At the meeting, the units operated in the Upstream area, which were Vietsovpetro, PVEP and BIENDONG POC had reported in details on the implementation of response to Covid-19, while suggested and proposed some specialized projects, which needed to be implemented and applied in the industry to ensure the stable, continuous and safe petroleum exploitation activities in the current situation, to the Group.

For the sharp and deep drop in oil prices, the units had built various production & business scenarios corresponding to the oil price levels … to find an appropriate management solution. According to the calculation, each time the oil price dropped 1 USD, PVN’s oil selling and exporting revenue also dropped about 225 thousand USD/day. Therefore, by the time the oil price reached 30-35 USD/barrel as at now, PVN would lose 3 billion USD revenue in 2020, it would greatly affect the production & business result of the Group and the State Budget’s revenue. In the face of such challenges, the Group and its units had discussed, assessed, analyzed to find and filter out the optimal solution, then compiled it into a comprehensive solution package to resolve the double crisis from Covid-19 and the sharp drop in oil prices. The comprehensive solution package was expected to be implemented in accordance with the specialty of each unit.

For the unit operated in other post-processed areas such as BSR, PVOIL, PVNDB, due to Covid-19, the oil and fuel consumption had dropped more than 30%. The units’ inventory was very high, while inventory carrying cost, product carrying vessel cost incurred and went up which caused the production & business activities became difficult for the unit. In this situation, Leaders of the units had focused on optimizing production & business, strengthening expense and cash flow management works as well as implementing and applying tools and solutions to minimize cost, time and improving productivity (applying information technology, promoting innovations, inventions, technical improvement solutions, …). At the meeting, the Group was also suggested to purchase and reserve crude oils, petroleum products, take advantage of this opportunity as oil prices had touched the bottom to use it as the leverage for growth when the market becomes bustling again.

After hearing the discussions, exchanges, ideas from leaders of the Group, the specialized divisions and units. General director Le Manh Hung emphasized that this was one of the hardest time in the Group’s history. Therefore, the Group and its units had to “sail across the storm”, on the other hand, determine opportunities in the hard time to restore the production & business situation as quickly and effectively as possible. The Group needed to have a special mechanism to resolve difficulties as well as seize any opportunity incurred; as a result, overcoming the challenges in current time. It would be a controlling mechanism, risk management, fast action and thinking procedures to meet the job solution requirements, production & business management in this particularly difficult period.

On that basis, General director of the Group and units needed to urgently build an internal rule in the Group to manage, operate production & business activities safely, uninterruptedly in the period of Covid-19. On the other hand, General director Le Manh Hung had requested to review the medical system at the units, in particular the large units with wide operational area, locating at the central surrounded by works to report to Ministry of Health to obtain the self-management and self-monitoring policy, controlled and prevented the pandemic according to the Ministry’s guideline.

Regarding production & business activities, General director requested the units to focus on reviewing, promoting management, implementing solutions to minimize costs and studies, proposing solutions to remove obstacles, preparing various scenarios in response to each situation, if the oil prices hit the bottom, even the worst scenario such as the operations at oil fields, oil refinery plants were forced to shut down.

At the same time, General director also requested the Group’s units to share information, resources, markets, … more to optimize the operation efficiency in the Group’s chain value; cooperate more with domestic and oversea businesses with the business lines related to the products distributed by own unit to resolve the market, optimize resources of each party to symbiotically overcome current difficulties.

General director Le Manh Hung also noted the units to implement this works effectively, it was necessary to update, report the situation, difficulties and obstacles regularly in the progress of implementation, so that the Group can support and handle timely. 

Due to the complicated development of Covid-19 and petroleum market, for the purpose of raising the management and operation of production and business activities, actively and timely building and implementing the urgent solution packages in response to the double crisis from the pandemic and drop in oil prices; on March 11, 2020 PVN issued Directive no. 1151/CT-DKVN, requesting the Group and member units to proactively grasped, updated the market information on supply and demand, the fluctuation of crude oil, petroleum products, and developed specific management plans, scenarios to respond accordingly.

PVN