May 12 - State-owned, PetroVietnam announced efforts to control rising fuel and fertilizer costs by increasing domestic natural gas production and finding cheaper import alternatives.

In a press conference, the company vowed to cut waste and concentrate in its core business, saving an estimated VND550 billion (US$34.4 million).

"PetroVietnam will still inject capital into key projects for ports, warehouses and shipping fleets, but it will cease putting capital into real estate construction projects and other less-effective projects," management board member, Phan Thi Hoa, told VNS.

He said the company would review all projects and direct capital only to highly-prioritized projects.

April 17 - The country’s first Dung Quat Oil Refinery is scheduled to operational by February 2009 according to a senior official from Viet Nam Oil and Gas Corp (PetroVietnam). The refinery will also produce petro-chemical products including fuels and liquidified gas.

Made at a cost of US$2.5 billion, the refinery will deliver 6.5 million tons of products annually by the end of the second quarter. This will answer 50 percent of domestic fuel demand.