Vietnam’s state-owned energy conglomerate Petrovietnam is deploying IoT, digital twins, and AI across its industrial facilities to improve operational reliability and reduce emissions.

Petrovietnam, formally the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, is the country’s largest oil producer and operates across the entire energy value chain, from exploration and refining to power generation and fertiliser production. The company’s digitalisation programme focuses on integrating embedded infrastructure and operational technology to transition its manufacturing assets toward data-driven and semi-autonomous operations.

The Cà Mau fertiliser plant, operated by Petrovietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer Corporation, has established a unified data platform to monitor key operating indicators and carbon dioxide emissions in real time. The facility plans to complete the second phase of its smart factory programme in 2026, which will introduce a smart warehouse and a digital twin to simulate operating scenarios.

“AI-based failure prediction has helped reduce unplanned downtime by 15 to 20 per cent, while energy and raw material consumption has fallen by 3 to 5 per cent,” said Nguyễn Duy Hải, former director of the Cà Mau plant.

At the Phú Mỹ fertiliser plant, a completed digital twin project now connects the facility’s physical assets, technical documents and operational data in a unified digital environment to support maintenance and safety protocols.

The Dung Quất oil refinery, operated by Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical, is developing a smart refinery model based on real-time data and AI-based energy optimisation. The company is scheduled to complete a pilot digital twin for the refinery’s Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit in June 2027, which is estimated to generate an additional US$4.5 million to US$9.1 million annually through operational optimisation.