The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex/PLX/Group) organised a conference to review the 2022 performance and launch 2023 tasks on January 9, 2023.

The conference witnesses the attendance of member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) Nguyen Hoang Anh; heads of CMSC’s departments and representative of the Central Business Bloc’s Party Committee.

The year 2022 is seen as an extremely difficult and challenging year for the Group and construction companies as they suffered negative impacts of many objective and force majeure factors, leading to unsatisfactory general outcome and efficiency. Nevertheless, with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, CMSC, the Central Business Bloc’s Party Committee; the proper direction and governance of the Board of Management; the drastic management of the Board of Directors along with the determination, consensus and efforts of the whole system from the Parent Company to its subsidiaries, numerous solutions and measures have been implemented synchronously, flexibly, and quickly, through which the Group has well ensured its leading role in stabilising the domestic oil market, ensuring the national energy security, especially in times of great stress on the entire supply chain in 2022.

Witnessing abnormal fluctuations in the world oil market as well as domestic petroleum business in 2022, certain retail outlets, distributors and petrol stations ceased or limited their sale, which put great pressures on the whole system of Petrolimex’s petrol stations as it was faced with growing demand from the whole society. Nevertheless, as a State-owned enterprise, Petrolimex maintained its usual services at 2,700 petrol stations and supplied fuel for franchise stations in line with the schedule and quantity as agreed. In order to serve the above-mentioned spike in customers, Petrolimex had to stretch itself in all stages to bring every litre of petrol to customers: from the generation of fuel sources to the transportation of fuel from warehouses and depots to gas stations, and finally to the delivery of fuel to customers. Each stage was soaked with sweat and efforts of Petrolimex officers and employees.

The year 2022 also demonstrated businesses’ capability to overcome difficulties post-social distancing. Petrolimex continued upholding its position and mettle of a business in the VN30 basket on the stock market; always consistent with the orientations to improve the governance quality, maintain stability and sustainability, and increase business efficiency.
The year also witnessed the Group’s strengthened governance and the Group being honoured by Forbes as Vietnam’s top listed companies, and Champion of Revenue on the stock market (VND300 trillion) for the 6th consecutive year and the Group’s Sustainability Report was also recognised as among the top 10 best reports in the whole market. The above-mentioned honours further demonstrate Petrolimex’s vision and orientations for sustainability through harmonious transition from “business for profit” to “business with responsibility” to the society, nation, shareholders and environment.

It is predicted that difficulties and challenges remain in 2023 with the risk of a global economic recession. Vietnam’s GDP growth is forecast at 6.5 per cent, which likely gives a rise to the domestic demand for oil and gas. The oil and gas market is still projected to face many potential risks.

For Petrolimex, 2023 is determined to be the pivotal year in the implementation of the five-year production and business and development investment plan for the 2021-2025 period. However, with the forecast that the situation has many unfavourable factors, it is essential that the Group must make efforts, drastically implement tasks and closely follow the reality to strive to fully realise production and business targets for 2023. 

Based on the assessment and forecast of the situation in 2023, Petrolimex put forward and strives to successfully fulfil five key tasks: (1) Ensuring complete safety for production and business activities is the top priority; (2) Well organise stages from source generation to sale, and business policies to ensure its role in stablising the oil and gas market, and ensure national energy security; (3) Implement specific contents in the Scheme of Restructuring Vietnam National Petroleum Group in the 2021-2025 period, and a vision to 2035; and the approved Production and Business, and Development Investment Plan for the 2021-2025 period; (4) Accelerate information technology application and automation projects at warehouses and petrol stations, and digital transformation consulting, among others to enhance governance capacity , competitiveness and labour productivity; (5) Implement projects and orientations for the development of petrol stations, maximise modes of transportation, develop truck service stations and electric vehicle charging stations. 

Petrolimex plans to implement these five key tasks through the following solutions:

• Ensuring the sources of fuel: Negotiate with domestic refineries to complete the signing of agreements; Proactively seek for sources of imported goods with competitive prices and taxes; Optimise the modes of transportation from warehouses to petrol stations, complete the setting of days inventory outstanding to ensure suitable inventory.

• Trading and trading support:Strengthen market forecast, and develop sales management scenarios; Develop a system of selective franchisees, concurrently develop standardised packages of products and services, business policies, brand identity, information technology, etc.; Be focused on expanding and developing the network of petrol stations, especially along expressways, national highways, provincial highways, and in big cities, which is in line with latest standards, modern and fully-integrated to meet customers’ demands and improve their experience; Pilot truck service stations; Continue accelerating cashless payments and maximise Petrolimex ID database to improve customers’ experience to attract many more customers.

• Investing in technical and material facilities: Implement the new brand identity at petrol stations, second phase; Continue carrying out and ensure the progress of key projects, such as: Petrolimex Tower, Improved Storage Capacity of Do Xa, Cam Ranh and Nghi Huong Warehouses; and the project to renovate pipelines running through Hai Duong Province and the B12 pipeline, among others.

• Applying technology, automation, and digitization:Strengthen governance, digitise business processes for internal management; Focus on promoting the deployment of IT applications and digitisation, expanding modules to maximise the efficiency of the data of ERP, EGAS, BI, and e-invoice systems among others. Build up data tools and dashboards that mainly monitor key information; Increase customers’ experience through the completion of App Petrolimex, Petrolimex ID, and updated cashless payment version (Version 2).

• Financial management:Drastically deploy and complete the e-invoice app for each transaction; Complete the SAP-ERP and EGAS software; Continue reviewing major expense items and work out solutions to effectively reduce costs.

• Governance, management:Formulate regulations on warehouse management, deploy the automated fuel level measurement system in warehouses, petrol stations; Promote communication to affirm the role and position of Petrolimex in ensuring national energy security as well as well Petrolimex-branded culture and services.

• Regarding Corporations/Joint-stock companies, limited liability companies:Strengthen the linkage and support between the Parent Company - the Group and Corporations, Joint-stock companies and limited liability companies to promote the whole system, and reinforce the whole sector’s competitiveness; Synchronously connect with the Group’s digital transformation and Industrial 4.0 technology application project, jointly creating and optimizing the common Big Data.

Addressing the event, CMSC chairman Nguyen Hoang Anh spoke highly of the spirit and efforts of Petrolimex leaders and labourers. He said he believed that with 67 years of pioneering in and leading the domestic oil and gas market, Petrolimex will continue strengthening solidarity and consensus to bring into full play their achievements, advantages and tradition to fulfill targets set for 2023, making marked contributions to ensuring the national energy security as well as the national socio-economic development.

On behalf of the Group leaders, Party Secretary – Chairman Pham Van Thanh appreciated CMSC chairman’s directions and expressed his belief that with the consensus and determination of the whole system, the solidarity which has become a tradition spanning over the past 67 years, Petrolimex will continue making much more efforts; staying more active and creative to utilise all opportunities and advantages, steadily overcoming all difficulties, challenges, successfully fulfilling targets and tasks set for 2023.

On the threshold of the New Year – Year of the Cat, Petrolimex leadership would like to express gratitude and send best wishes to the Party and State leaders, shareholders, partners, and customers for their love and trust, and local media for their company.