Arctic to South China Sea: How Petrovietnam and Zarubezhneft Generated Over 40,000 Billion VND in Five Years

A Remarkable Success Story in Global Energy Cooperation

A Vietnamese enterprise investing abroad with approximately 13,800 billion VND but returning nearly 36,000 billion VND in profits—could this be one of the most successful deals in the history of Vietnam's oil and gas industry?

The Vietnamese oil and gas sector has recently recorded another clear testament to the effectiveness of international cooperation as the joint venture between Petrovietnam and Russian oil and gas giant Zarubezhneft continues to generate enormous profits. From oil fields in the harsh Arctic ice of Russia to offshore rigs in the waters of Vietnam, the two parties have built a cooperation model considered exemplary in the energy industry.

Who is Zarubezhneft?

Zarubezhneft, established in 1967, is currently a 100% state-owned Russian oil and gas enterprise. After nearly 60 years of development, the corporation has expanded its operations to many countries including Vietnam, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

In Vietnam, Zarubezhneft is most famous for its role as a co-founder of the Vietnam-Russia joint venture Vietsovpetro, which contributed to making history in Vietnam's oil and gas industry from the 1980s.

Table: Zarubezhneft Global Presence

Rusvietpetro and the Arctic Miracle

In 2008, Petrovietnam and Zarubezhneft established Rusvietpetro, a joint venture tasked with developing oil fields in the Nhenhesky area of Russia's Arctic region.

Table: Rusvietpetro Ownership Structure

The joint venture was tasked with developing oil fields in the Nhenhesky area of Russia's Arctic region under extremely harsh conditions:

Table: Rusvietpetro Project Challenges

Notably, the project had an initial investment of only about 533 million USD, equivalent to approximately 13,800 billion VND. After many years of operation, the Vietnamese side has received nearly 1.4 billion USD in profits, equivalent to about 36,000 billion VND. The total profits that Rusvietpetro has brought to both sides have exceeded 3 billion USD, equivalent to more than 77,000 billion VND.

Table: Rusvietpetro Financial Performance (Recent Years)

The growth rate reached approximately 9.5%, showing that the project maintains its effectiveness despite continuous fluctuations in the global oil and gas market.

Vietsovpetro: The Symbol of Vietnam's Oil and Gas Industry

If Rusvietpetro represents success abroad, then Vietsovpetro is the symbol of Vietnam's oil and gas industry. On June 4, 2026, Vietsovpetro officially reached the milestone of extracting 255 million tons of oil from Block 09-1.

This journey began on June 26, 1986, when the first commercial oil was extracted from the Bach Ho field. The project has become one of the most significant contributors to the national budget and energy security for decades.

Table: Vietsovpetro Key Highlights (2025)

Over 40,000 Billion VND in Profits in Five Years

Summarizing from Petrovietnam's two largest joint ventures, the results are remarkably noteworthy:

Table: Combined Profit Performance

Notably, in the past two years, the profit share from Rusvietpetro has even exceeded the oil profit from Vietsovpetro. This demonstrates that Petrovietnam's strategy of investing in oil and gas abroad is clearly yielding effective results.

From Oil to Offshore Wind Power

The most notable development currently is that Vietnam-Russia cooperation is entering a new phase. During a meeting on June 17, 2026, the Vietnamese government proposed that Zarubezhneft cooperate with Petrovietnam and Vietsovpetro to research establishing a production base for wind power equipment and developing a renewable energy supply chain in Vietnam.

Priority areas include:

• Offshore wind power
• Renewable energy
• Energy equipment supply chain
• New energy technologies

This indicates that Vietnam-Russia cooperation is no longer limited to traditional oil and gas but is expanding to future energy sectors.

Outlook for the 2026-2030 Period

The combination of Zarubezhneft's nearly 60 years of experience and Petrovietnam's operational capabilities could create a new growth cycle for Vietnam's energy industry in the coming decade.

Table: Potential Growth Areas 2026-2030

Currency Conversion Reference

A project in a region with temperatures of -50°C has generated tens of billions of VND in revenue for Vietnam. As the world transitions to new energy sources, will the cooperation model between Petrovietnam and Zarubezhneft continue to create new miracles in offshore wind power and renewable energy?