Central & SE Asia / Australasia
Country profile: Vietnam
| Location: | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
| Climate: | tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March) |
| Terrain: | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
| Size: | 329560 sq. km total (Land area: 325360 sq. km Water area: 4200 sq.km) |
| Population: | 86,116,559 (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
| Government: | Communist state |
| Capital city: | Hanoi |
| Legal system: | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | dong (VND) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
Over the course of two decades Vietnam has emerged as an important regional producer of oil and natural gas in Southeast Asia. The country has boosted exploration activities, allowed greater foreign company involvement in the oil and natural gas sectors, and introduced market reforms aimed at strengthening Vietnam’s energy industry. While these efforts have helped Vietnam expand production of oil and natural gas, domestic consumption of these resources has also increased as a result of rapid economic growth.
The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by an average 7.3 percent over the last ten years. Half of Vietnam’s domestic energy consumption comes from oil, with hydropower (20 percent), coal (18 percent), and natural gas (12 percent) supplying the remainder.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 319,500 bbl/day (2007) | 6 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
| Consumption: | 271,100 bbl/day (2007) | 6 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
| Exports: | 315,700 bbl/day (2007) | |
| Imports: | 271,100 bbl/day (2007) | |
| Reserves: | 3 billion bbl (2007 est.) | 184 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Major fields: |
Vietnam - recent news
| 18 Mar 26 |
Vietnam: Jadestone Energy's Field Development Plan for the Nam Du / U Minh gas discoveries offshore Vietnam has been formally approved AIM-listed Jadestone Energy, an independent upstream production and development company focused on the Asia-Pacific region, has announced that the Field Development Plan ('FDP') for the Nam Du / U Minh gas discoveries offshore Vietnam has been formally approved by the Vietnam Government. |
| 09 Feb 26 |
Vietnam: EnQuest awarded Block 12W PSC extension EnQuest has announced a four-year extension to the Block 12W Production Sharing Contract ('PSC'), awarded by PetroVietnam. Granted on the PSC's existing terms, this extension runs to July 2034 and provides EnQuest and its partners the opportunity to access upside across Block 12W, with prospectivity spread across three gas discoveries and several additional targets. |
| 19 Jan 26 |
Vietnam: Fugro and PTSC G&S extend partnership to provide marine site characterisation services in support of Vietnam’s growing offshore wind industry Fugro has extended its MOU with PTSC Geos and Subsea Services (PTSC G&S), a branch of Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation to meet Vietnam’s rising demand for geophysical, geotechnical and metocean data services. |
| 11 Jan 26 |
Vietnam: Pacifico Energy achieves commercial operations at Sunpro Wind Farm in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Pacifico Energy Vietnam, the Vietnam-based development platform of Pacifico Energy Group, a leading global energy infrastructure developer, has announced the commencement of commercial operations at its 30 MW Sunpro Wind Farm, adding new power capacity to Vietnam’s national grid, supporting the country’s transition to clean energy. |
| 07 Jan 26 |
Vietnam: Murphy Oil achieves appraisal success at Hai Su Vang Field, unlocking significant resource upside Murphy Oil Corp has announced that its subsidiary has successfully drilled the Hai Su Vang-2X (HSV-2X) appraisal well in Block 15-2/17 in the Cuu Long Basin, located approx. 40 miles offshore of Vietnam. The well spud in early October 2025 and marks a major milestone in Murphy’s strategic appraisal campaign for the Hai Su Vang (Golden Sea Lion) field. |
Vietnam - more news
Other countries in this region
- Australia,
- Bangladesh,
- Brunei,
- Cambodia,
- China,
- Fiji,
- Hong Kong,
- India,
- Indonesia,
- Japan,
- Laos,
- Malaysia,
- Maldives,
- Mongolia,
- Myanmar,
- Nepal,
- New Zealand,
- North Korea,
- Pakistan,
- Palau,
- Papua New Guinea,
- Philippines,
- Singapore,
- South Korea,
- Sri Lanka,
- Taiwan,
- Thailand,
- Timor Leste
