Vietnam oil & gas firms post record profits in 2025

A number of Vietnamese oil & gas companies have reported strong growth in estimated revenue and profits for 2025, ahead of the Q4 earnings season.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (HoSE: BSR), operator of the Dung Quat oil refinery, said output was estimated at nearly 7.91 million tons, with revenue of VND142.3 trillion ($5.41 billion) and pre-tax profit of VND4.7 trillion ($178.7 million), more than six times the VND736 billion recorded in 2024.

On December 25, BSR approved revisions to its 2025 business plan, sharply raising its consolidated pre-tax profit target to VND3.01 trillion ($114.6 million) from VND837 billion ($31.83 million). The company said its actual pre-tax profit exceeded the revised target by 56%.

PV Drilling (HoSE: PVD) also reported strong results. Its management said consolidated revenue was estimated at 10.5 trillion ($399.2 million) in 2025, with pre-tax profit of VND1.1 trillion ($41.83 million) and net profit of VND830 billion ($31.56 million), far exceeding the year's targets.

The performance was driven by high utilization rates across its owned drilling rigs, all of which operated continuously, alongside solid contributions from leased rigs in Vietnam.

Revenue continued to diversify, with well technical services, ancillary services, and overseas markets accounting for about 40%.

PV Gas (HoSE: GAS) said consolidated revenue was estimated at VND134 trillion ($5.1 billion), equal to 181% of the year's plan and up 27% from 2024.

Pre-tax profit reached VND14.5 trillion ($551.3 million), or 218% of the plan, up 10% year-on-year. State budget contributions totalled more than VND7.8 trillion, up 11%.

PetroVietnam General Services Corporation (Petrosetco) (HoSE: PET) said 2025 consolidated revenue was estimated at VND20.6 trillion ($783.3 million), up 8% from 2024 and slightly above plan.

Pre-tax profit rose 42% to VND402 billion ($15.29 million), while net profit reached VND322 billion, exceeding its target by 32%.

In December 2025, Petrovietnam completed the sale of its entire stake at Petrosetco, auctioning 24.9 million PET shares to six individual investors for VND900 billion ($34.19 million). Following the transaction, Petrosetco is no longer an enterprise having state ownership capital.

Vietnam Petroleum Pipeline and Coating JSC (HNX: PVB) did not disclose detailed figures but said key financial indicators, including output, revenue, profit, and state budget contribution exceeded both its 2024 results and 2025 targets.

Earlier this year, the company had set a revenue target of VND540 billion ($20.53 million) and net profit of VND40 billion ($1.52 million) for 2025.

Oil stocks rally, outlook brightens for 2026?

Oil and gas stocks emerged as a bright spot on Vietnam’s stock market in December, despite broader market divergence that saw capital concentrated in a handful of large-cap names.

Over the month, while the VN-Index rose 4.53%, oil & gas stocks outperformed, with PVB (Vietnam Petroleum Pipeline and Coating JSC) jumping 25.6%, GAS (PV Gas) gaining 13.5%, and PET (Petrosetco) 7,55%, PVD (PV Drilling) 5.78%, and PVS (PTSC) 5.21% rising between 5% and 8%.

Beyond strong earnings, sentiment was lifted by a government resolution issued on October 28 that addresses bottlenecks in the approval process for oil and gas activities.

Resolution No. 66.6/2025/NQ-CP assigns Petrovietnam certain approval powers previously held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, including approvals for oil & gas field development outlines and adjustments to early field exploitation and development plans when total investment rises or decrease by less than 10%.

Analysts at broker Vietcap said the resolution, which grants Petrovietnam greater authority, supports expectations of a short-term recovery cycle in domestic exploration and production (E&P).

They forecast domestic E&P spending in 2026 to rise 60% year-on-year, largely driven by continued disbursements for the Block B project. This is expected to accelerate several medium-term projects, including Nam Du-U Minh, Khanh My-Dam Doi, and Thien Nga-Hai Au, as well as fields such as Lac Da Hong, Hai Su Vang and Bao Vang-Bao Den.

Vietcap also expects Brent crude prices to recover to around $65 a barrel in 2027-2029, supported by U.S. policies favorable to fossil fuels. Such levels would underpin global and domestic E&P activity, as they are about 10% higher than pre-pandemic averages (2015-2019).

SSI Research, meanwhile, said profit trends are likely to remain uneven across the sector. Upstream firms such as PVD and PVS are expected to maintain growth on the back of large workloads and direct exposure to the Block B-O Mon project.

Downstream stocks (PLX, OIL, BSR) are more likely to be negatively impacted, potentially recording flat or slightly declining profits. For GAS (midstream), due to the difficulty in securing further large provision reversals like in Q2/2025, NPATMI (net profit after tax and minority interest) in 2026 is expected to decrease by single digits despite a 7-9% increase in dry gas production.

Fuel distributors PLX and OIL are awaiting a new decree on petroleum trading. Analysts said the revised rules are expected to give distributors greater flexibility in adjusting retail prices in line with actual costs, helping stabilize profit margins.