ANNUAL REPORT 2021

The Plant maintained safe operation with average capacity of 109.39% (Calculating based on capacity of Urea workshop). On 06 October 2021, Ca Mau Fertilizer Plant reached the capacity of 8 million tons per day after more than 9 years of commercial operation.

Total productive maintenance (TPM) in 2021 took place in extremely special conditions. To be specific, the plan of machine termination for maintenance was changed three times; the procurement faced many challenges due to pandemic outbreak; foreign experts could not be mobilized and it was difficult to find domestic contractors. However, thanks to initiative in preparation and highly skilled plant personnel, the Company has completed TPM objectives. The TPM was carried out in November 2021, with 2,171 items, in 13.4 days (including the time to stop and restart the Plant) and produced NH3 and Urea products in 50.5 hours and 6 hours prior to schedule.

This is a new step in self-controlled maintenance towards implementation and development of maintenance services according to strategic goals.

In particular, optimization is a strength of the team of plant engineers and workers. During the year, PVCFC has accelerated optimization program, including the items already completed in TPM and in the process of recording efficiency evaluation data such as collecting hydrogen in off gas stream to increase NH3 production; increasing the capacity of heat exchanger E04301; and recalling MP vent gas in Urea plant. In addition, the items under construction such as optimizing cooling water system, optimizing LTS operation to increase NH3 output, renovating and importing liquid NH3 for Urea production, installing coalesce filter at gas distribution assembly, and renovating hydrogen recycle supply system and expected to be put into operation in 2022.

When Covid-19 pandemic widely broke out in HCMC and Southern provinces in April 2021, some cities/provinces have posed social distancing measures, travel restrictions which had big impacts on product consumption and left ports, warehouses short of workers, difficulties in fertilizer transportation and circulation had negative impacts on product consumption need. Facing these challenges, PVCFC has implemented business solutions to adapt with the pandemic, ensure smooth production consumption and contribute to market stabilization, specifically:

By expanding distribution channels, investing and developing B2B channels toward key customers including farms, agricultural production enterprises, etc. have shown that market expansion and change of distribution types to Tier 2 agents have gained good results.

Renew approaches to reach target customers in consumption of NPK products and micro-organic products toward strong investment on end-customers instead of concentration on distribution channels based on digital platform for business, marketing and communication activities.

Maximize digital platform applications on sales and marketing communications in the context of Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, conduct non-touch based interactions with customers. The digital platforms such as ERP, Eoffice, DMS, CRM and “2 Nông” App, etc. have been playing a positive role in maintaining smooth business and marketing communications activities in a cost-efficient manner.

The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2021 has caused difficulties for the Company to implement investment projects as well as attract experts and contractors, however, with ceaseless efforts in connecting with Copyright Office to begin remote tests on “molten Urea-based complex fertilizer production project with a capacity of 300,000 tons/year”. And when social distancing measures were eased, the Company has completed necessary procedures for the Copyright Office to visit Vietnam. The project is now under acceptance process. Besides, projects implemented in 2021 have shown positive changes:

  • Progress of converting and supplying raw CO2 at Ca Mau Fertilizer Plant has reached 96.30%/97.47%, the Company is now taking final steps of construction and preparing for putting into trial operation.

  • PVCFC’s Research and Development Center: with hi-tech agricultural development as its strategic orientation and providing nutritional solutions for plants, PVCFC has allocated a land plot in Long An province to build a Research and Development Center. Long An Department of Planning and Investment is now completing procedures for approval of investment policy.

  • Projects under material diversification strategy: “Coal gasification factory project” is under evaluation of investment opportunity with Ca Mau Fertilizer brand as its business strategy to conduct tests and market research before making investment decision.

  • Apart from diversifying products and expanding factory scale, demand of storing material and products also keeps increasing. Therefore, the Company is seeking sites for a wholesale warehouse in the Mekong Delta region, upgrade and expand warehouses in the plant for seasonal inventory during low-season to ensure continuous production.

PVCFC always takes initiative in carefully reviewing and evaluating all investment projects, procurement items before implementation to ensure necessary steps, reasonability and orders of priority as well as optimal capital structure.

Leaders of Ca Mau Province, Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and of PVCFC at a completion ceremony for Ca Mau NPK Plant

Pursuant to the Company’s Charter and Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors supervised the activities conducted by the General Director and members of the Board of Management in operating the Company’s production and business as well as implementing resolutions of the General Meeting of Shareholders and ones of the Board of Directors in 2021. Details are as follows:

Supervision method
  • Supervising the production planning process in 2021 and the implementation of those targets approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders.

  • Attending periodical meetings of the Board of Management on the Company’s business and production performance and holding quarterly progress meetings in order to promptly support and ensure the effective operation of the Board of Management, the assisting apparatus for the Board of Management, and a representative in the enterprise that the Company contributed capital in.

  • In addition to individual thematic meetings with the Board of Management and supervisors of some departments, the Board of Directors also has real-time inspection and supervision to grasp the actual situation of the Company’s business through the Audit and Risk Management Committee, the Internal Audit Committee, and coordinate with the Supervisory Board. Furthermore, the Board of Directors has supervised and discussed with independent audit firms during the audit and appraisal of financial statements in accordance with prevailing regulations.

Supervision results

The Board of Directors assessed that the Board of Management had successfully completed its role of operating the Company’s production and business, successfully completed the assigned targets in 2021, specifically as follows:

In 2022, because of the complicated progress of the Covid-19 pandemic, high oil prices, fierce competition between domestic fertilizer manufacturers and importers, slow recovery of the global supply chain, PVCFC’s Board of Directors has determined the key tasks to be performed during the year as follows: