SEVEN SISTERS INHALING THE WORLD
.. OIL
Companies in Vietnam$$$$$$
by Louis
Wessling,(thePRESIDENT of SHELL OIL in VIETNAM, Dutch born, member USAF)
NOTE: While author may be
an oligarch acquisition, his take on OIL
is probably accurate.THIS DATA is about who's part of the gang bang in NAM
which now contains EVERY deep pockets corporation and member of the 13
families. NO CIVILIANS. JUST RICH GUYS but their corporations are publicly
traded so one can get in on the profits.
His article found at http://www.vietnamvetcontacts.com/gpage32.html
MY
NOTE: Vietnam VETS (for some reason ) are doing major research on this OIL QUESTION!!
DOESN'T COMPUTE cuz if you were stupid enough to fight there you sure weren’t
smart enough to know the real reason the US GOV was there was to get the single
biggest oil deposit on the planet! (In ocean, a few miles offshore ) Nam's oil
fields were known to be huge and yet the US quit. Don't understand the final
truth of why ... I imagine that the activists made life imposs. for the
republicans. So the next country that came along with a rich oilfield, ANGOLA,
the CIA went in with secret forces, no GI’s, all very sly, all covert actions.
Cubans retaliated, sent their secret forces there. Big secret war there &
nobody knew a thing about it. Couldn’t be done today. IRAQ was as public as
Nam. Iran will be, also..
BUT what's weird is that the
seven sisters have got their clutches in but hugely there. LIKE why and
how??????? Vietnam's oil is history, we'll glug it down and burp by 2020 and
NAM will be up an inflation river with no canoe to paddle, and no paddle. We'll
just go looking around for the next bigdrink. NOTE: We started. IRAQ, ANGOLA,
and IRAN.
CBVL's bulk bitumen storage and distribution facility, also located in Haiphong, is scheduled to come on-stream in the fourth quarter of 1998.CBVL is expected to import bitumen from Caltex' SPRC refinery in Thailand this year. Caltex continues to seek further investment opportunities in Vietnam.
Contact
Details
Caltex Vietnam Representative Office
40 Cat Linh Street, Hanoi
Vietnam
Tel. (84-4) 733-2533
Fax. (84-4) 733-2536
Who's
Caltex?The Caltex Petroleum Corporation is a joint venture of Texaco Inc. and
Chevron Corporation. It is a major service station company with business all
over Asia for many years. In order to strengthen its position in the
region, it has just started a US$500 million
program to redesign its logo, and service stations. It will also add and build
new ones. The company plans to invest a total of US$5 billion in Asia by year
2000. The target countries include: China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, and
Indonesia. Currently, Caltex's regional headquarter is in Singapore. It is
going through a reorganization that will bring key executives to Singapore and
closer to the market.
China and Vietnam are largely agrarian societies ruled by Communistparties. To rebuild their economies and maintain their monopoly power,the ruling parties have allowed fragments of a market economy to developin a move towards socialist market economies. These reforms includeopening up areas to foreign participation previously inaccessible.Privatization in these areas has been restricted mainly toproduction-sharing agreements (PSAs) and joint ventures. Unlike thecountries of the FSU and Eastern Europe, both China and Vietnam in thepast decade have experienced tremendous growth, which has increased thedemand for energy supplies. In recent years, both countries havemaintained a positive trend in the production of energy resources.However, China's energy sector recently has had trouble keeping up withits rapidly expanding economy, which is outstripping its energy suppliesand raising its dependence on imported oil. Vietnam's emerging energyindustry, on the other hand, is developing as a potential major netexporter of petroleum products and gas in the Asian-Pacific market.
China's
petroleum industry is still under strong central control. Littlehas been done
to allow foreign ownership of China's assets in its oil
and gas industry. The industry is dominated by four
large state-ownedcorporations: two state petroleum companies and two downstream
companies{see Endnote 169}. The largest of the two petroleum companies is
theChinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), an integrated
industrialorganization founded in 1949 to plan, organize, and manage
theexploration and development of onshore oil and natural gas resources.The
CNPC controls more than 95 percent of China's onshore oil andnatural gas
fields. All offshore oil and gas exploration andproductionis under the control
of the second petroleum company, the China NationalOffshore Oil and Gas
Corporation (CNOOC). It was founded in 1982 to actas the state representative
in joint developments with foreign companiesof China's offshore oil and gas
reserves.
The
China National Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), the staterefiner, was
formed in 1983 to develop an integrated Chinese refining
and petrochemical system. The China National
Chemical Import and ExportCorporation (Sinochem) is the import and export
company responsible fortrading international crude oil and oil products. It is
the country'smain importer of crude oil.
In
1993, China became a net oil importer for the first time. China'sstrategy is to
increase domestic oil and gas output by stabilizing
production in eastern China's mature fields, by
increasing the focus onexploration and development in the western regions and
by continuing toencourage offshore development. Central to this strategy is an
expansionof exploration and production joint ventures with foreign companies.Thus
far, China has adopted a very limited form of privatization. Mostforeign
activity is in production-sharing contracts. Most oil and gasproduction comes
from onshore activity; however, until recently, mostforeign activity had been
limited to offshore exploration anddevelopment. In 1993, the need to meet
production targets led China toopen up onshore areas to foreign investors with
the first of three
investment auctions.
Eastern
China, the country's traditional producing region, is where mostof the country's
large oil and gas fields are located. Oil production
from eastern fields accounts for more than 90
percent of the country'stotal crude oil production of 3 million barrels per day
{see Endnote
170}, but these aging fields are beginning to
decline. China hasrecently emphasized exploration and development expenditures
in western
regions, particularly in the Xinjiang region of the
northwest. Mostonshore tracts offered to foreign investors in the three
investment
auctions are located in this area. Crude oil
production in 1994 from theXinjiang region in northwest China was 225,000
barrels per day {see
Endnote 171}. The three major basins in the
Xinjiang region are Tarim,Turpan-Hami, and Junggar. Experts believe Tarim is
the most promising asfar as the possibility of finding
"elephant-class" discoveries. However,Tarim's remoteness and lack of
infrastructure have made it difficult fortransportation facilities to keep up
with discoveries, temporarilyreducing production. To entice foreign companies who
are concerned aboutgetting their oil to market, China has launched a massive
infrastructureexpansion program in this region which will include pipelines,
atrans-desert highway, parallel rail lines, and expanded storage.Offshore crude
oil production in 1994 averaged 130,000 barrels per day{see Endnote 172}, 4.5
percent of China's total crude oil production.Until recently, all foreign
activity was limited to offshore explorationand development. Offshore China was
opened to foreign investors in 1982.Since then, the CNOOC has held four
investment auctions. By 1994,foreign investment in China's offshore oil and gas
exceeded $4 billion.Currently, there are 12 offshore oil and gas fields in
operation, ofwhich four include participation with foreign partners - ACT
OperatingGroup of Agip SpA, Amoco and partners, Chevron, Japan's JHN
Group,Phillips Petroleum, and Texaco {see Endnote 173}.
Natural gas makes up only about two percent of China's domestic energyproduction and has long been overshadowed by the country's coal and oilproduction. However, environmental concerns have led China to recentlyshift its oil and gas exploration and development emphasis towardsnatural gas, both on-and offshore. The CNPC plans to step up gasexploration and development in western China. Gas production is expectedto increase offshore since China's largest offshore gas field, Yacheng 13-1 {see Endnote 174}, began producing in early 1996. In addition, theSichuan gas project has been proposed to develop and rehabilitate fieldsin the Sichuan province, where most of China's gas is produced, in orderto halt the decline in field productivity {see Endnote 175}.By the end of 1994, China's total refining capacity had reached 3.4million barrels per day, making it the fourth largest refiner in theworld, after the United States, the FSU, and Japan {see Endnote 176}.The country's refining capacity is rising, but not fast enough toaccommodate China's soaring domestic demand for refined products. Thus,China has embarked on a major restructuring and expansion plan andstarted to encourage foreign joint venture participation. The focus isto modernize the industry to international standards and to add anadditional refining capacity of about 1.4 million barrels per day byyear 2000 {see Endnote 177}.
Beginning
in the early 1990s, Sinopec led efforts to expand capacity andbuild new
"grassroots" refineries by decentralizing the refining
industry. It began to allow other Chinese oil
companies, such as theCNPC, to build refineries. However, government
restrictions limiting
market access have made it difficult for potential
foreign investors tofinalize projects. For example, France's Elf Aquitaine
pulled out of a
proposed $2.5-billion refinery project in Shanghai
at the end of 1995,while Shell has yet to reach an agreement with Chinese
officials to
build a refinery in the Guangdong province, after
seven years ofnegotiations {see Endnote 178}.
As a
result, although many proposals have been submitted by foreigncompanies,
presently there are only two foreign companies with
investments in China's refining industry--France's
TOTAL owns a20-percent stake in a northeastern Chinese refinery, while ARCO
owns a
stake of 9.9 percent in the Zhenhai Refining and
Petrochemical Company{see Endnote 179}.
Vietnam
Unlike
the countries of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, whoare
restructuring their mature oil and gas industries, Vietnam is
building a nascent oil and gas industry,
spurred by foreign investment.Due to this investment, Vietnam with virtually no
hydrocarbon productiona few years ago--produced 171,000 barrels per day of oil
in 1995 {seeEndnote 180}.
The
country is already on its way to becoming a major source of petroleum in the
Asian-Pacific energy market. Vietnam opened its economy
to foreign investment in 1988. However, U.S.
companies did not begin investing until 1994, when thetwenty-year U.S. trade
embargo was lifted. Vietnam has tried to make thecountry more attractive to
foreign investors by various reforms in itspetroleum law. The country's first
petroleum law was ratified in July1993.
This law assigns upstream and downstream petroleum operations to the state-owned enterprise, Petrovietnam, founded in 1977. It also gives the company the power to parcel acreage to select contractors based on competitive investment auctions or other government-announced programs. Most foreign investments are in the form of production-sharing agreements or joint ventures. Vietnam also is directing foreign investor activity toward the building of infrastructure to include refineries, gas pipelines, and hydrocarbon-fueled power plants. Unlike many former Communist economies in transition, where uncertainty is causing lengthy delays, Vietnam has established a stable legal and tax environment that reduces uncertainity and enables companies to quickly move from the initial stage of signing agreements to the stage of producing the fields. However, regional territorial disputes are an impediment to the development of some of Vietnam's offshore petroleum resources.
Hydrocarbon potential off the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and competition for additional energy reserves recently reignited a long-standing feud between China and Vietnam surrounding ownership ofthe Islands and adjacent waters. The territorial dispute arose again when China awarded an exploration block in the disputed waters to the U.S. independent oil company Crestone Energy Corporation. (URL) Subsidiary of BIG US CORP, FORTUNE 500 corp THOMSON GALE called also GOLIATH INDUSTRIES. and they mean it! THIS LAVENDAR STUFF WAS ADDED BY POSTER at LIST.
Later, Vietnam awarded an adjacent block to a Mobil-led consortium. Six countries China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia all lay claim to this part of the South China Sea {see Endnote 181}.
Virtually all Vietnamese exploration and production activity occurs off Vietnam's southeastern coast. By the end of 1994, after two licensing auctions and the signing of 25 offshore production-sharing agreements, the number of exploratory wells rose considerably {see Endnote 182}. Most petroleum production in Vietnam occurs in three fields, Bach Ho, Rong, and Dai Hung. The Bach Ho and Rong fields are operated by VietSovPetro, a Vietnamese-Russian joint venture. Bach Ho, the country's first and largest producing oil field, was discovered in 1975 by Mobil, which abandoned the well when the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam. The well was later developed in 1986 by VietSovPetro. Both the Rong and Dai Hung fields led by a BHP consortium composed of BHP, Petronas of Malaysia, Total, Sumitomo, and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation came on line in1994 {see Endnote 183}.
Newly discovered fields could be on line soon, raising the country's production even further. For example, Petronas is developing its Ruby field, while Mitsubishi and Japan National Oil are developing the RangDongfield, with production in both fields to start by 1997. Other fields that could come on line are the Flying Horse, discovered by Lasmo; the Red Orchid and the West Orchid (both located in disputed waters), andthe Sunflower North and South Fields, discovered by BP; as well as two other unnamed fields, one discovered by Total and the other discovered by Shell/Pedco. These major fields are all located in the Nam Con SonBasin {see Endnote 184}.
Despite initial exploration successes, geological difficulties are making it hard to estimate recoverable reserves, raising concerns over the viability of some projects. Several fields that were originally thought to be quite large are now being downgraded--for example, the BHP consortium's Dai Hung field and the Mobil consortium's Thanh Long block. Further, BHP is considering abandoning its Dai Hung project if new terms cannot be negotiated {see Endnote 185}.
Several
recent gas discoveries have opened up the future of the gas industry in
Vietnam. Perhaps the most significant activity involves two major gas field
strikes in southern Vietnam drilled by British Petroleum
(BP) and its partners, India's ONGC, and Norway's
Statoil, with reserves estimated at a combined 2 trillion cubic feet {see
Endnote 186}.
Another area of discovery with potential gas reserves is at the Hai Thach gas field. It may take a few years before reserve estimates can be formulated, but if the country's proven natural gas reserves are estimated between 12-35 trillion cubic feet, Vietnam plans to commit itself to the development of a natural gas industry for domestic use aswell as possible export markets {see Endnote 187}.
In April 1995, Vietnam commissioned a consortium comprised of BP, (BRIT.PETROL) British Gas, Mobil, and Mott Ewbank Preece (an IRISH, BRITISH corporation, incorporated in IRELAND for TAX REASONS, probably), develop a master national gas plan {see Endnote 188}. DId anyone ever think of TAX BENEFITS being off shore as close as IRELAND? Want to investigate that point? I Know ISLE OF JERSEY and GUERNSEY are tax Havens Brits use. SO WHICH RICH BRITS ARE BEHIND THIS CORP? Who are these masked men with a tiny piece of the NAM PIE?
In the meantime, Vietnam's first gas pipeline (built by Hyundai of Korea) went into operation in 1995, bringing production ashore from the Bach Ho field {see Endnote 189}.
Vietnam also is studying the possibility of exporting gas via pipelineto Thailand {see Endnote 190}.
Substantial upstream activity has led to Vietnam's generating plans fordownstream oil and gas infrastructure projects. As Vietnam's economygrows, it plans to reduce its reliance on imports by building its firstoil refinery by the year 2000. Vietnam commissioned two feasibilitystudies regarding the possible construction of a 130,000 barrels-per-dayrefinery. France's TOTAL, a consortium member of the study, withdrewfrom the project over objections concerning the chosen site, located ina remote area of central Vietnam. South Korea's LG Group, Petronas ofMalaysia, and Conoco were chosen to replace TOTAL, but the companiessaid that no decision has been made beyond a feasibility study sincethere are doubts about the viability of the project {see Endnote 191}.Vietnam hopes to build a second 100,000- barrels-per-day refinery afterthe first plant comes on line {see Endnote 192}.
In
the meantime, Petrovietnam has asked for bids to begin studies for asecond
refinery, likely to be located in the northern part of the
country. Despite foreign involvement in upstream
activities, Vietnam hasdenied foreign investors access to its retail sector
{see Endnote 193}.
15:54
2002-09-25
NEW OIL AND GAS RESERVOIRS FOUND IN VIETNAM
PTTEP Hoan Vu Ltd and PTTEP Hoang Long Ltd, two subsidiaries of PTTExploration and Production in Vietnam found oil and natural gas duringpreliminary exploration drilling.
PTTEP holds 25% and 15% stakes in mentioned subsidiaries placed east ofthe port city of Vung Tau.
Preliminary
results showed that one area has an oil flow rate of 250barrels per day, while
the other has an oil flow rate of around 2,500
barrels per day and 6.6 million cubic feet per day
of natural gas.
PTTEP
was established on June 20, 1985, by the Cabinet's resolution withan aim to
strengthen the country's energy stability and to minimizepetroleum imports from
overseas.The government assigned the Petroleum Authority of Thailand
(ThePetroleum Authority of Thailand or PTT was later transformed to PTTPublic
Company Limited) to set up a company named PTT Exploration and
Production Company Limited or PTTEP to undertake
core business inexploration, development and production of petroleum for the
maximumbenefits of the country. Subsequently, with an attempt to support
theexpansion of its exploration and production business in Thailand
andoverseas, and to reduce the government's investment burden, in 1992PTTEP
successfully raised fund from the public by floating shares in thestock market
and registering as a public company. To date, PTTEP has aregistered capital of
3,322 million Baht, with PTT acting as a majorshareholder with 60.97% share.
For 16 consecutive years, PTTEP has continued to develop and expand itspetroleum exploration and production business. With the intention toconstantly explore the petroleum reserves for the country and thecommitment of being efficient operator, PTTEP has gained sufficientstrengthen to become an international exploration and production companyand the Operator of 3 Projects, both onshore and offshore; PTTEP1Project, Bongkot Project and Arthit Project. In addition, PTTEP hasinvested in petroleum exploration and production activities with otheroil companies in 11 Projects both domestic and neighboring countries.PTTEP also seeks additional investment to increase its reserves in otherhigh-potential areas to enhance the stability of national petroleumsupply in the long term in Southeast Asia region and the Middle East,specifically in Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran and Oman.
Apart
from its core business in petroleum exploration and production,PTTEP has enhanced
its business into strategic downstream activity.
PTTEP has already invested in gas-fired power
generation with ThaioilPower Co., Ltd. in small Power Producer project (SPP)
and IndependentPower Producer (IPP).
PTTEP, as one of Thailand's leading listed companies, has complied withgood corporate governance in accordance with the laws and regulations toensure the transparency and efficiency of its management, which leads tothe sustainable growth and adds value to its business in the long run.In addition, PTTEP has begun a major effort of becoming a LearningOrganization in corporating the principles and practices of the Societyfor Organizational Learning (SOL). PTTEP believes this effort willincrease its ability to become a world class organization as stated inour vision.
Shell
Vietnam's operations since its return to Vietnam in 198714-07-02 As the biggest
petroleum conglomerate in the world, Shell
doesn't plan on staying behind in any business. We
had the followinginterview with Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Shell Vietnam country
chairmanbetween 1996 and July 2002, and Mr. Nguyen Huy Tam, Shell
Vietnamcountry chairman designate. Both talked about Shell Vietnam's
operationssince its return to Vietnam in 1987.Question: During the initial
phase of its return to Vietnam, Shell
focused mainly on upstream operations. Why did
Shell later shift thisstrategy?
Mr.
Khanh: In oil and gas prospecting, luck plays a crucial role. Shellspent $ 164
mm on exploration operations off the coasts of Danang and
Vung Tau during the first eight years.
Unfortunately, we couldn't find awell of commercial value. This fact urged
Shell to reconsider its entire
business strategy to boost its profits and stock
prices. Question: WillShell resume prospecting in Vietnam in the future?
Mr.
Khanh: To Shell, the pivotal strategy is still in upstreamactivities. As far as
I know, the parent company is reconsidering the
Vietnamese market.
Question: If a resumption of upstream operation is feasible, will Shellfocus on natural gas?
Mr.
Khanh: We all know that Vietnam's gas prospect is greater than thatof oil. In
addition to oil and gas, Shell has recently been doing
business in the power industry. If we find gas
wells with commercialvalue in Vietnam, it's definite that we'll consider
investments in power
plants. Question: In 1996, Shell pulled out of the
prospecting industryto engage in producing oil and gas products such as
lubricants, bitumen,chemicals and liquefied gas. Given the small size of the
Vietnamesemarket, where a host of competitors were already in place, do you
thinkthat strategic shift was justifiable?Mr. Khanh: When re-entering Vietnam,
Shell set a long-term goal of doingbusiness in all oil and gas-related
industries, and achieving at least a20 % market share in 15 years. In Vietnam,
fuel is the biggest market.However, as the Government hasn't allowed foreign
investors to enter theindustry, yet we had to begin with products with lower
market demands.
Question: Since 1996, Shell has pooled $ 50 mm in
constructing alubricant blending plant, a natural gas processing plant, and
depots for
liquefied gas and bitumen in Haiphong, Cua Lo (Nghe
An) and Go Dau (DongNai). What will Shell do to realize its goal of a 20 %
market share in15 years?
Mr.
Tam: Shell never wants to be in third place in any industry. Ourgoal is to
always be in the first or second position. Our current 5-year
plan is aiming at achieving this goal.Question:
Does that mean that Shell will acquire a competitor to improveits lubricant
market share?
Mr. Khanh: Everything is possible. If we look around and can find awin-win deal, why not?
Question: Is it true that Shell Vietnam is launching a special brandmarketing campaign?
Mr.
Tam: Shell Vietnam plans to provide more services for motorcyclists.After
getting the license, we'll be willing to form partnerships with
anyone who wishes to join us in this network
servicing motorcyclists.Shell Vietnam wants to create a new image at these
outlets that can
provide whatever a motorcyclist needs.
Question:
Could you elaborate on Shell's cherished plans? Mr. Khanh:We've already
prepared some projects and have been waiting for the
Vietnamese Government to change policies so that
we'll be able toimplement them. In a working session with Shell leadership in
Europe,
Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Xuan Gia
said in a few years'time, Vietnam would open its retail fuel market to foreign
investors.
Question: Shell Vietnam personnel, from the country
chairman down, areall Vietnamese. Is this a Shell strategy?
Mr.
Tam: Recently, Shell has adopted the "diversification of the
greymatter" theory. In line with this theory, the core of personnel at
Shell
in any country must be locals. In 1993, Shell
Vietnam's foreign staffnumbered 26. Now, there're only two, a Filipino and a
Thai.
When applying for the investment license [in
Vietnam], we pledged thatbetween three and five years, we would replace foreign
staff with
locals. Shell Vietnam is among the companies that
have best kept theirword in this regard.
Nguyen
Quoc KhanhDate of birth: May 9, 1942
Nationality: French
Profession: Engineer
Over the past 37 years, Nguyen Quoc Khanh has been with Shell until heretired from Shell Vietnam country chairmanship this July. A VietnameseFrench, Khanh joined Shell France as an IT project manager in 1965 aftergraduating from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines (NationalSchool of Mining) in St Etienne, France. In 1994, he was promoted toShell France IT director after holding various posts in the company. InApril 1996, he was appointed country chairman of Shell Vietnam. Prior tohis chairmanship Khanh had contributed to the resumption of Shelloperations in Vietnam by engaging in the licensing process of Shellinvestments.
Over the three consecutive years from 1996 to 1998, under thechairmanship of Khanh, Shell Vietnam set up three major plants forfinished oil and gas products. In 1996, Shell Vietnam operated itsbitumen depot in Cua Lo. One year later, it opened the Haiphong LPGDepot/bottling plant. And in 1998, the Go Dau Terminal & Plantscombination was inaugurated.
In 2000, the Go Dau LOBP (Lubes Oils Blending Plant) 1st phase was putinto use, and last year the Go Dau main LOBP became fully operational.In addition, Khanh successfully bought out partners in the lubes jointventure in 1999, and in the bitumen joint venture in 2000 to make thesetwo companies 100 % Shell-owned. It also completed the merger of four100 %-Shell-owned companies into Shell Vietnam.
Brief
history:
1962-1965:
Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines (St Etienne,
France)
1965-1970:
Shell France, IT project manager
1970-1972:
Shell France, assistant treasurer
1972-1974:
Shell France, head, Management Accounts
1974-1976:
SIPM The Hague, head, Financing, European
Co-ordination
1976-1979:
Shell France, head, regional supply &
distribution manager
1979-1982:
Shell Chimie (Paris), controller
1982-1985:
SIPC London, finance advisor, African Regional
Co-ordination
1985-1994:
Shell Chimie (Paris), financial director
1994-Mar. 1996:
Shell France, IT director
Apr. 1996-now:
Shell Vietnam country chairman.
Board chairman of five Shell companies in Vietnam,
including Shell
Codamo (Lubes) Vietnam, Shell Bitumen Vietnam,
Shell Chemicals Vietnam,
Shell Gas Saigon and Shell Gas Haiphong. General
manager of Shell Codamo
Vietnam, and after the merger of four 100 %
Shell-owned companies in
January 2002, board chairman cum general manager of
Shell Vietnam.
Nguyen
Huy Tam
Date of birth: Dec. 4, 1949
Nationality: Vietnamese
Education: BA in Linguistics
During his military service between 1966 and 1971, Nguyen Huy Tampersonally defused and removed over 200 mines, and retard and magneticbombs. Tam and his regiment at the 17th Parallel helped keep the trafficon the historic Ho Chi Minh Trail from disruption. In 1969, Tam wasawarded "Best Soldier of the Year" for his military achievements,especially for his initiative in defusing magnetic bombs. Between 1971and 1975, Tam studied linguistics at the University of Foreign Languagesin Hanoi. He held several positions between 1976 and 1992 before joiningShell Vietnam Exploration as a senior personnel advisor. Since 1996, Tamhas worked closely with Shell Vietnam Country Chairman and GeneralManager Nguyen Quoc Khanh. He and Khanh conducted supervision on allShell Vietnam activities.
Since his assignment as the GM of Shell Bitumen Vietnam in late 2000,Tam took decisive actions in increasing the Cua Lo depot's capacity atminimum costs. He also set up transit plants in Phap Van, Dong Ha, QuangNgai and Nha Trang. Put into operation last year, the four new plants --together with the Cua Lo and Go Dau depots -- have improved ShellVietnam's bitumen supply capacity to cover the entire Vietnamese market.The new move led to the company's encouraging business results in thebitumen industry last year.
Brief
history:
1966-1971:
Soldier, Vietnam People's Army
1971-1975:
University of Foreign Languages, Hanoi
1976-1979:
Translator of English, HIF AB & SIDA
1980-1981:
War correspondent
1981-1983:
Vietnam manager, Interflug
1984-1988:
Teacher of medical English, University of Medicine
and Pharmacy, HCM
City
1989-1992:
Senior assistant on Programmers and Supply Chain,
UNICEF
1992-1995:
Senior personnel advisor, Shell Vietnam Exploration
Oct. 1995-Jan. 1998:
HR manager of Shell Vietnam (downstream)
Feb. 1998-Apr. 2000:
Aviation Business Development manager, Shell
Vietnam (downstream);
board director of Shell Codamo Vietnam, Shell Gas
Haiphong and Shell
Bitumen Vietnam
Apr. 2000-Oct. 2000:
Business Support Services manager, Shell Vietnam
(downstream)
Nov. 2000-May 2002:
General manager of Shell Bitumen Vietnam
July 15, 2002:
Country chairman cum board chairman/GM of Shell
Vietnam.
Source: The Financial Times
Shell Vietnam applies to merge four of its five businesses 08-11-01Shell Vietnam has applied for permission to merge four of its fivebusinesses and is awaiting final approval from the country's Ministry ofPlanning and Investment, a company official said. "We have approved tomerge four of our five businesses, because we believe this will enhanceoperational efficiency and bring better service to our customers," hesaid. "Our strategy is to function as one operation, have one direction,under one management." Shell plans to merge Shell Bitumen, Shell Codamo;seller of lubricants, Shell Gas Saigon; seller of LPG, and Shell VietnamChemicals, into one entity by December 2001. Shell Gas Hai Phong willremain an independent company, as it is a joint venture with Vietnam'sHaiphong Total Gas, he added. Source: PlattsFuelling the War : Revealing an Oil Company's Role in VietnamLouis Wesseling
For
the last three years of the Vietnam War, the author of this book was
Chief Executive of Shell Vietnam. As such he
controlled half the
country's oil supply which was purchased by the
Americans, used by the
South Vietnamese, fought for by the Vietcong and
often supplied to the
North Vietnamese and Vietcong armies through
indirect channels. This
book is his account of the role of oil in that war.
The action takes
place mainly in Saigon among ambassadors, generals,
politicians,
bankers, businessmen, CIA agents, spies and
hustlers. Wesseling recounts
the behind-the-scenes manipulation and skulduggery
which formed a
little-known part of the Vietnam War.
Fuelling
the War : Revealing an Oil Company's Role in Vietnam
Louis Wesseling
Editorial
Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
As a
Dutch business executive who ran Shell Oil’s operations in Vietnam
from 1972 to 1975, Wesseling offers a perspective
that has so far been
missing in the vast Vietnam War literature: that of
a well-compensated,
well-connected corporate higher-up living and
working in Saigon. Much of
the book is a re-creation of Wesseling’s life and
times among the
business, military and political elite in Vietnam
during the war’s last
three years. His well-drawn portraits of some of
the characters he
worked and rubbed shoulders with are among the
book’s high points. Less
successful are Wesseling’s sketchy history of
Vietnam and anti-Communist
critiques of the way the French and Americans
fought their wars in
Indochina from 1945 to 1975. The book’s most
notable absence, however,
is the lack of a full account of how Shell and
other oil companies
actually fueled the American war machine in Vietnam.
Given the
well-known rampant corruption in South Vietnam
during the American war,
the 7% of Shell Oil that Wesseling estimates wound
up in the enemy’s
hands seems low. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners
Business Information,
Inc.
Book
Description This is the story of the role of oil in the Vietnam
war. What is revealed here for the first time is
how American oil
suppliers also ended up fuelling the communist
armies—under the blind
eye of Shell—with shipments flowing through
indirect channels. The
action takes place mostly in Saigon among
ambassadors, generals,
politicians, bankers, businessmen, CIA agents,
spies and hustlers, and
for the first time unveils the behind-the-scenes
manipulation and
skulduggery which formed the unknown part of the Vietnam
War.
About
the Author Louis Wesseling is a law graduate from Leiden and an
USAF officer and pilot trainer in the USA.