At a meeting with Algerian Minister of Petroleum and Mines Mohamed Arkab and Chairman of the Algerian National Oil and Gas Group (Sonatrach) on November 20, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that the two sides strongly promote cooperation between the two countries through specific projects in the energy and oil and gas sectors.
Specifically, the Prime Minister asked the Algerian side to support the Vietnam National Industry and Energy Group (PVN) to continue expanding its oil and gas exploitation and services, petrochemical refining, fertilizer processing, polymer fiber... in Algeria. At the same time, the Algerian partner can cooperate with PVN and the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to develop solar and wind energy, as well as to build a smart grid system.
The Inter-Governmental Cooperation Committee will play a general coordinating role. Accordingly, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam to support procedures for the two sides to cooperate and produce specific and effective products.
Algeria is a country rich in crude oil resources, ranking 16th in the world in terms of output and 9th in terms of export volume. In terms of gas, they also rank 4th in the world in terms of exports. This is also the main economic sector, accounting for 30% of the country's total domestic income.
According to Algerian Minister of Petroleum and Mines Mohamed Arkab, the President of Algeria has directed the immediate implementation of specific cooperation projects between the two countries in the fields of energy and oil and gas.
Currently, the joint venture between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP), under PVN, with the Algerian National Oil and Gas Group, and the Thai Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Company cooperate in the Bir Seba oil and gas project. The project has surpassed the milestone of 55 million barrels of oil production, becoming one of the bright spots in energy cooperation between Vietnam and Algeria.
Minister Mohamed Arkab highly appreciated the capacity of PVN. He said that Sonatrach, an important Algerian corporation, identified PVN as a priority partner. They need technical support from PVN in the stages of exploration, exploitation, processing, and refining of oil.
The Minister said that he will direct and support related enterprises to continue to implement cooperation and investment. Algeria also encourages small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the bilateral oil and gas cooperation chain, and asked Vietnam to support Algeria in training human resources.