OIL AND GAS

Vietnam’s potential crude oil reserves in the southern offshore area stand at about 270 million tons and are likely to increase substantially with continued exploration.

Vietnam has potential non-associated gas reserves of more than 360 billion cubic meters. Proven associated gas reserves are on the order of 57 billion cubic meters.

MINERAL RESOURCES

Vietnam’s primary coal resource, anthracite, is concentrated in Quang Ninh Province in the Northeast. It has potential recoverable reserves of 7-8 billion tons of which 600 million tons are shallow (within a depth of 100 meters). The country also has an abundance of other minerals, including bauxite, iron ore, copper, gold, precious stones, tin, chromate, apatite, and building materials such as granite, marble, clay, silica sand, and graphite.

OTHER RESOURCES

Vietnam is also very rich in other natural resources including significant hydropower (10,000 MW), marine resources, tropical forest, and agricultural potential. The country has 5 world heritages recognized by UNESCO (including Ancient Capital of Hue, Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), Holy Land of My Son (Quang Nam), Ancient Street of Hoi An (Quang Nam), National Forest of Phong Nha – Ke Bang (Quang Binh)); 2 human cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO (including Imperial Palace refined Music Hue and Western Highlands Gong Culture); and beautiful beaches, national ecologic forests, countryside, high-land and historic places.

History

Vietnamese history dates back more than 4,000 years to when the ancient Vietnamese people founded their first nation under the name “Van Lang.”

The recent history of Vietnam is best characterized as one long, continuous struggle for freedom and independence. The country was ruled by the Chinese feudalists for nearly a thousand years from 111 B.C. to 939 A.D. It was also colonized by France for almost a century, from 1859 to 1945.

During the Second World War, Vietnam was occupied by Japanese troops, but the French administration continued until March 9, 1945 when it was toppled by the Japanese. Vietnam regained its power from the Japanese in August 1945 and was declared independent on September 2 in the same year, giving the birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Right after the declaration of independence, the country was immediately plunged into a war against the French attempts to re-colonize, which lasted for another nine years. The war ended in 1954, leaving the country divided at the 17th parallel. The north remained as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, led by the communists, while the south fell under the influence of the West, namely the United States.

The U.S. involvement in Vietnam grew in the 1950s and escalated into a full-fledged war in March 1965 when the first U.S. troops landed in Vietnam. Although U.S. troops were completely withdrawn by the end of March 1973 as a result of the Paris Peace Accords, the war continued until April 30, 1975, when the south was liberated. The nation was reunified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in January 1976. However, the legacy of war did not end until 1979.

Vietnam is now at peace and pursues multilateral diplomatic and economic policies in order to become a faithful friend, a partner of countries in the international community, play an active role in regional and international cooperation.