HANOI: Vietnam will likely miss the annual growth target of 6.2 percent unless its crude oil output is increased, ministers told a government meeting.
Although its economy expanded faster than expected in the first half of 2015, the growth was driven mostly by oil production, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said.
The country had originally planned to produce 14.74 million tons of crude oil this year, but due to price drops, it may need to raise the output by at least one million tons, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said.
In response to the ministers’ proposal, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the government will have to discuss it “carefully.”
Vietnam produced 8.38 million tons of crude oil over the first half of 2015, up 11 percent year on year. The economy grew 6.28 percent in the first six months, the highest since 2010.
