Vietnam raises oil exports

Vietnam raises oil exports

HANOI (DPA): Vietnam exported over US$1.81 billion worth of oil in the first 11 months of 1999 and is expected to reach 2 billion dollars by year end, official media reported Saturday.

Vietnam's national oil equipment corporation, Petechim, said state-run oil concerns pumped 13.56 million tons of crude through November from its offshore oil blocks in the South China Sea, according to the Vietnam News.

Petechim aims to export 14.86 million tons for the year, about 500,000 tons over the yearly target.

Rising oil prices, which hit an average 133.5 dollars per ton last month and are expected to climb again in December, are helping drive the exports, the paper said.

Hanoi has earned $10 billion from its exports since the late 1970s when it first entered offshore oil partnerships with the Soviet Union, making it the country's biggest hard currency earner.

Vietnam exports 95 percent of its crude as it has no refining facilities.