The tendering process at the commercial division of PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation

Table of Contents Table of Contents I.Overview about PetroVietnam: II.Overview about PetroVietnam Exploration Production: 1/ History and Development process: 2/ Organization chart: 3/ Fields of operation: I Commercial activities in general and Tendering activities in particular at PVEP: 12 II The tendering process at PVEP: 13 III Operation Assessment 19 Preface Until recently, tendering and tender appraisal have been a necessary, but seldom celebrated, component of multinational corporations Tender or procurement activities within companies, especially in the field of petroleum exploration and production these days are playing pivotal roles in the success of giant firms in ways that old-fashioned purchasing managers could never have imagined The decision of the 6th Party Congress in 1986 to undertake a comprehensive restructuring and renovation process is often seen as the main point of departure for Vietnam’s economic reforms Since then, our country has been following the renovation path of industrialization and modernization; which means investment projects especially in power-related fields are an important part of economic development Therefore, at the present stage we can confirm that all investment activities have proved to play a vital role in the process of developing and perfecting production systems in order to enhance the efficiency of investment projects To best meet the demands of quality, implementation schedule, cost saving and limitation on the level disputes which can cause physical damage or harm to the reputation of stakeholders, the use of tendering and procurement method in purchasing goods and services has proved to have increasingly complex technical requirements, especially to projects of companies which have multiple owners, projects in the state sector, or projects sponsored by the international financial institutions In addition to that, tendering activities not only takes place within one single country but it also extends internationally, as the product being procured has specific characteristics which attract domestic and foreign customers Therefore, research and studies relating to the knowledge of tendering activities is becoming increasingly necessary for students as well as those who are working, studying in Page | related fields With the desire to have a better understanding of the mode of tendering and tender appraisal, on the basis of the knowledge learned at the university and practical experience gained through an internship at the Commercial division of PetroVietnam Exploration Production, I have studied in depth and chosen the following subject: “The tendering process at the commercial division of PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation” I sincerely thank lecturer Vu Thanh Toan for being my dedicated instructor, and hope that this internship report can help us understand PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation and its tendering activities better Page | Chapter Overview about PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) I Overview about PetroVietnam: PetroVietnam is the trading name of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) (in Vietnamese: Tập đồn Dầu khí Quốc gia Việt Nam) PetroVietnam has developed rapidly since it was established in 1977, and its activities, through its various companies and wholly owned subsidiaries, now cover all the operations from oil and gas exploration and production to storage, processing, transportation, distribution and services Wholly owned by the Vietnamese central government, it is responsible for all oil and gas resources in the country and has become its country's largest oil producer and second-largest power producer PetroVietnam operates in many fields and has the main functions and tasks such as: Invest in subsidiaries and affiliates; control the subsidiaries following the percent of holding registered charter capital of PetroVietnam It implements petroleum activities and sign the petroleum contracts with the organizations, individuals operating in petroleum fields based on Petroleum Law; manage and supervise the petroleum/hydrocarbon exploration and production activities following contracts with petroleum contractors and subsidiaries, organizations and other individuals PetroVietnam also directly does business in accordance with the Vietnamese related laws for profit targets Economic relations between PetroVietnam and its subsidiaries, affiliates and are stipulated in economic contracts It implements Page | rights and obligations of the owner at the subsidiaries and affiliates and organizes the implementation of business plans among PetroVietnam Oil and Gas Group PetroVietnam has subsidiaries: • Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) • Petrovietnam Gas Corporation (PV Gas) • Vietnam Gas Pipeline Joint-Stock Corporation (PV Pipe) • Petrovietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) • Petrovietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) • Binh Son Refinery Ltd (BSR) • Petec Trading and Investment Corporation II Overview about PetroVietnam Exploration Production: 1/ History and Development process: PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) is one of Vietnam’s most established entities It is the major force driving Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group’s (PetroVietnam) core operational fields of oil and gas exploration and production The establishment and development of PVEP is closely linked to the history of Vietnam's oil and gas industry over the last half century Starting as PetroVietnam II (PV-II, established on 5/1988) and PetroVietnam I (PV-I, established on 11/1988), PVEP has undergone multiple name changes and restructuring over its growth phases In 1993, PetroVietnam I and II were reorganized and PetroVietnam PSC Supervising Company (PVSC) and PetroVietnam Exploration Production Company Page | (PVEP) were established This marked an important step in the national oil and gas industry, as operations now became more effectively managed and, at the same time, participation begun as a contractor in domestic and international oil and gas contracts The establishment of the PetroVietnam Investment Development Company (PIDC) in 2000 out of PVSC was a turning point in PVEP’s history, with PIDC increasing its own investment in domestic projects and gained success in solely managing important production projects as well It began to deploy investment for oil and gas exploration in foreign countries and the first projects executed were in Iraq, Algeria, Malaysia and Indonesia The current version of PVEP was established on 04/5/2007 through the consolidation of the former PVEP and PIDC corporations in order to unify their business operations both nationally and overseas 2/ Organization chart: PVEP operates with the Board of Directors and Executive Board who are heads and act under the supervision of Internal Supervisory Board: PVEP has 12 functional divisions: Accounting and Audit, Administration and Public Affairs, Commercial, Corporate Planning and Asset Management, Drilling, Exploration, Human Resources, Information Technology and Management System, Investment and Business Development, Legal, Operation of Exploitation Projects Page | Division, Reservoir Engineering The companies include PVEP Overseas, PVEP POC, PVEP Song Hong, PVEP Venezuela 3/ Fields of operation: PVEP produce oil and gas for domestic consumption and export in an efficient and environmentally safe manner, substantially benefiting the community and all employees at the company In addition to that, its main functions are accelerating exploration both in domestic and overseas, increasing oil reserves for future exploitation, developing exploiting in deep water areas, off coastal, overlapping and disputed areas, expanding the investment area and proactively conducting petroleum exploration and production operations overseas Page | Oil and Gas exploration and production With a view to increasing oil and gas reserve and discovering new fields to meet domestic demand and export, PVEP has been carrying out effective exploration and production of oil and gas both at home and abroad through PSC, JOC, JOA, BCC contracts, self-investment and self-management in exploration, making important petroleum discoveries, quickly bringing the discovered fields into production phase with the application of state-of-the-art technologies to increase production as well as oil and gas recovery rate, thus protecting the environment and natural resources Domestic exploration and production activities: PVEP has recently signed six new petroleum contracts of blocks 05- 2/10 (with Talisman), 148-149, 135-136/03 (with Talisman/Pearl), 45 (with Mitra), 102/10 and 13/03 (with Santos), increasing the number of effective contracts to 60 During the last year, PVEP conducted survey and acquisition of over 12,500 km 2D and 5,600 km2 3D seismic in accordance with the signed contracts and general exploration program for exploration and appraisal of oil and gas potential in structures PVEP drilled 82wells, among them 11 for exploration, 10 for appraisal, 61 for production and some others for water injection and well-to-well connection with the total drilling length of 222,000m at the expense of about 1.160 billion US Dollars As a results of such exploration – appraisal drilling campaign, several significant oil and gas discoveries were made in wells GT-1X,MT-1X (Block 09-1, VietsovPetro), CVX-2X (Block 117-119, ExxonMobil) and others, leading to the total recoverable reserve increase by 15 million t.o.e in2011, thus ensures the reserves increase by 110 to115 million t.o.e for the period 2011-2015 Overseas exploration and production activities: Implementing the Decision No 386/QD-TTg dated of March 2006 by the Prime Minister of Vietnam in regards to the vision and primary targets in-overseas investment strategy, during the last year PVEP engaged in new petroleum contracts, increasing the total number of effective Page | exploration and production projects to 20 in 14 countries, including the Russian Federation, SNG countries, Middle East, Northern and Central Africa In addition to that, Latin America and ASEAN countries also play pivotal roles in exploration projects of PVEP Generally, in the period of 2011 – 2015, PVEP will expedite the exploration and production activities both in Vietnam and overseas, targeting on recoverable resource increase by 15-17 million t.o.e and sustainable production of 10-12 million t.o.e a year To achieve these goals, active promotional programs were carried out, the significant investment amounts were attracted for its in-country projects and a number of petroleum contracts were signed, including ones in the deep water and remote offshore acreages which are proving to be increasingly important For its overseas investment strategy, PVEP has gained positive achievements, thus being able to increase the oil and gas reserves and production, contributing considerably to the national energy security of Vietnam and gradually enhance the Group's position and image in the regional and global arena Page | Petroleum services PVEP offers a wide range of oil and gas products and services, and its petroleum services have been expanded in scale and advanced technologies to serve oil and gas projects at home and abroad Several petroleum technical services companies have been restructured or newly established for thus purpose Services provided by PVEP are: - Geo-physics survey, technical and drilling services for oil and gas producing fields, provision of FPSO and FSO vessels, import-export and supply of petroleum materials and equipment - Import-export and trading of crude oil and petroleum products Page | - Transportation, storage, supply and distribution of oil and gas products, dry gas and LPG - Operation and maintenance of oil and gas facilities (production platforms, oil tankers, crude oil storage vessels, oil and gas pipeline systems, gas processing plants, high buildings ), services for oil spill contingency - Design and installation of oil and gas structures, power and civil construction - Maritime transportation and logistics - Provision of technical workers, tourism, hotels, catering for offshore oil and gas facilities Power generation Investment in power generation sustains the investment in energy infrastructure, meeting the increasing electricity demand and energizing the economic development of the country PVEP is investing strongly into power generation and has become the second largest power producer in Vietnam Despite of being the new business area, with high enthusiasm and responsibility, PVEP has within 10 years completed the construction of high-efficiently combi-cycle gas turbine power plants, namely Ca Mau 1, Ca Mau 2, Nhon Trach and Nhon Trach with total installation capacity of 2,000MW PVEP is proud with safety and efficient operation of the said plants, delivering about 24 billion KWh to national power grid The current generation capacity of PVEP accounts for around 3-5% of total effective installed capacity of the country PVEP continues strengthening the Project Management Boards, enhancing the effective operation management, maintenance, repairing and marketing activities The company is currently undertaking the construction of several other power plants including coal-fired plants of 1,200MW Page | 10 each, namely Vung Ang 1, Long Phu 1, Thai Binh 2, Quang Trach and Song Hau 1, two hydro-power plants of Hua Na and Dakring and Phu Quy wind power plant PVEP targets on increasing its generation capacity of 7-8% of total national power generation by 2020, fuelling the economic development of the country Promoting its role as PetroVietnam’s main force in international integration and foreign investment, PVEP is currently participating in dozens of oil and gas projects in 14 countries, having gained production output from such fields as Cendor and D30 in Malaysia and is currently speeding up production activities in Algeria and Peru PVEP's achievements have contributed, together with its parent company PetroVietnam, in helping ensure national energy security, assisting the Government regulate the economy and protecting Vietnam’s sea and island territory sovereignty Page | 11 Chapter Commercial activities in general and Tendering activities in particular at PVEP I Commercial activities in general and Tendering activities in particular at PVEP: Commercial activities of the PVEP include main fields which closely relate to each other: Oil and Gas trading, Commercial Insurance, and Tender/ Procurement and Tender Evaluation Oil and Gas trading is the main commercial activities of PVEP Trading commodities include crude oil, heating oil, natural gas and gasoline Energy commodity trading is an essential business The might of corporations like PetroVietnam can be viewed as somewhat proportionate to their ability to create and manage complex trading systems and facilitate energy trades, as these served as the wheels of the corporation’s development Another activity of the commercial division includes Commercial Insurance, which is closely related to Oil and Gas trading While trading commodities, insurance is essential as it protects the corporation from running into risky situations Insurance is classified into two groups The first is life insurance, which handles life insurance, annuities and pension products This group is characterized by its long-term investments The other group is known as non-life insurance, and it covers all other types of insurance, such as a commercial fleet policy for a PVEP’s trucks and other vehicles and the company building hazard policy, which covers fire, theft, vandals Page | 12 and weather-related hazards This also includes PVEP's professional liability policies with specific requirements Finally, Tendering and Procurement activity is the most essential part of commercial activities at PVEP, into which we will take a closer look Procurement at PVEP is the process of buying goods, works or services for the corporation or the employees For instance, in 2014, procurement activities at PVEP comprise the process of buying the basic infrastructure and services such as Petromod Software or Coaching courses This may involve the acquisition of operation and management services for a basic service Procurement is often carried out by the process of tendering, rather than buying products directly from a vendor PVEP here acts as the promoter, client or employer wishing to obtain goods or services, will first specify its requirements Subsequently, it will open the bidding in a process known as Tendering Interested companies can then submit their proposals to PVEP to meet these requirements PVEP will then evaluate the bids to decide which offer best suits its requirements The company that has been successful in the tender process will perform the work by contract Tendering and Procurement activities are the most essential in Commercial division’s scope of work; therefore, in-depth investigation into PVEP’s Tendering and Procurement activities is explored in the sections below II The tendering process at PVEP: 1/ Types of Tendering activities There are main types of tendering activities at PVEP, namely Open Tendering and Selective Tendering Under open tendering the employer advertises his proposed project, and permits as many contractors as are interested to apply for tender documents Sometimes he calls for a deposit from applicants, the deposit being returned ‘on Page | 13 receipt of a bona fide tender’ However, this method can be said to be wasteful of contractors’ resources since many may spend time preparing tenders to no effect Also, knowing their chances of gaining the contract are small, contractors may not study the contract in detail to work out their minimum price, but simply quote a price that will be certain to bring them a profit if they win the contract Under selective tendering (also called restricted tendering) the corporation advertises its project and invites contractors to apply to be placed on a selected list of contractors who will be invited to bid for the project The reasons for restricted tenders differ in scope and purpose They are called because: • There is essentially only one suitable supplier of the services or product • There are reasons for expedience such as emergency situations • There is a need to weed out tenderers who not have the financial or technical capabilities to fulfill the requirements Contractors applying are given a list of information they should supply about themselves in order to ‘pre-qualify’ The advantage to the employer is that it can select only those contractors, who have adequate experience, are financially sound, and have the resources and skills to the work Also, since only half a dozen or so contractors are selected, each contractor knows he has a reasonable chance of gaining the contract and therefore has an incentive to study the tender documents thoroughly and put forward his keenest price However, since contractors have all pre-qualified it is difficult to reject the lowest bid, even if it appears dubiously low – unless it is due to some mistake Page | 14 2/ Main commodities: Tendering activities at PVEP usually include the process of selling oil and gas through JOCs or purchasing the basic services or infrastructure for the corporation Instead of buying services or products directly from a vendor, PVEP carries out Tendering which comprises of main tendering packages as follows: - Oil and Gas product sharing after exploration - The coordination with PV Oil to carry out contracts to sell blocks BR-325 and BO-097 - The selling of 320kb Loreto & Residual oil in Bayovar for PeruPetro for 12.8 USD/barrel - Preparation for Drilling projects HRD-1X – “Drilling Rig” Tender package, “Directional Drilling” Tender package - Scale treatment for Flow line of SD-2PL - The provision of services in Staff mentoring and training courses for PVEP by HPT Vietnam Corporation - Personnel data management Software PVN – HRM (Copyright PetroVietnam) - The Provision of Acquisition of OCTG & Wellhead for 2014 Drilling Program - Blocks 135-136/03 3/ Markets for Tendering activities: Main counterparts of PVEP in tendering contracts are listed as follows: Country Company names Vietnam Premier Oil Vietnam LCC (also known as Premier Oil Vietnam Limited) Page | 15 Santos Petroleum ventures B.V PetroVietnam Gas Joint stock Corporation GeoPetro Vietnam S.A VietsovPetro (VSP) Japan Japan Vietnam Petroleum Co Ltd United Kingdom ConocoPhillips (U.K.) GAMA Limited Malaysia Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) Petronas Carigali Overseas SDN BHD (PCOSB) Korea Korea National Oil Corporation, SK Energy Co Ltd 4/ Tendering Procedure at PVEP: The tendering activities at PVEP comprise of the main steps as follows: Tender process is determined: The organization requesting the tender will determine the type of tender that will be used, as well as what will be involved in the tender process This stage includes two types of tender as stated in the a/ part: Open tendering and selective tendering Request for tender is prepared: The request for tender outlines what is required, the contractual requirements and how you should respond Tender requests are invitations to suppliers (Invitation to tender - ITT) to provide a competitive offer to win a contract for the supply of their products or services There are many different terms for tender requests, and each may have slight differences, with the most common being request for tender Page | 16 (RFT) and invitation to tender Other terms include request for proposal (RFP), expression of interest, and call for bids etc An invitation to tender (ITT) (often called tender for short), which is a special procedure for generating competing offers from different bidders who are looking to obtain the right to supply a typical type of good or service to PVEP They are usually preceded by a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) Double envelope system: In an open bid or tender system at PVEP, a double envelope system may be used The double envelope system separates the technical proposal (based on and intended to meet the statement of work) from the financing or cost proposal in the form of two separate and sealed envelopes During the tender evaluation, the technical proposal would be opened and evaluated first followed by the financing proposal The objective of this system is to ensure a fair evaluation of the proposal The technical proposal would be evaluated purely on its technical merits and its ability to meet the requirements set forth in the Invitation without being unduly skewed by the financial proposal Tender box: Next, a tender box is used, which is a mailbox that receives the physical tender or bid documents When a tender or bid is being called, a tender or bid number is usually issued as a reference number for the tender box The tender box would be open for interested parties to submit their proposals for the duration of the bid or tender Page | 17 Once the duration is over, the tender box is closed and sealed and can only be opened by either the tender or bid evaluation committee or a member of the procurement department with one witness Tender evaluation process: Once PVEP has had a list of contractors, it begins the tender evaluation process which determines the lowest responsive bid submitted by a responsible bidder The evaluation procedure may correctly disclose errors, anomalies and omissions in the bids that appraising committee has mistakenly left out This review may also point out weaknesses in the bid or contract documents, or improper tendering practices by bidders Each tender will be evaluated for compliance, and if compliant, then evaluated against the criteria specified in the tender documentation The tender that offers best value for money will win the business Notification and debriefing: When a contract has been awarded, the successful tenderer will be advised in writing of the outcome Unsuccessful tenderers are also advised and offered a debriefing interview Post-tender Negotiation: Post-Tender Negotiation is contact between the buyer and tenderers to refine and improve the bid(s) in order to ensure that prices, delivery or associated terms of the contract are competitive Page | 18 The potential areas for negotiation will differ for every contract but typical topics might be the terms of payment; quality of goods or services; supply and cost of spare parts; earlier delivery or completion dates; warranties and guarantees; documentation requirements; maintenance and support, repair or after-sales service; and compensation for failure to meet specified requirements Finally, contracts are established and managed, and a formal agreement will be required between PVEP and the successful tender III Operation Assessment 1/ PVEP’s achievements: PVEP, by inheriting the achievements and experiences of its precursors, the present-day corporation has made huge progress in oil exploration, production and especially trade through tendering activities Between 2007 and 2012, the company produced more than 40 million tons of oil and condensate to sell abroad through tender PVEP also explored 36.5 billion m3 of gas, increasing the country’s reserve by 273 million tons of converted oil, and sold approximately 15 billion m3 through tender and procurement Moreover, PVEP also announced 27 oil and gas discoveries and put 16 new fields into production; made revenue of 171 trillion VND and paid 59 trillion VND to the State Budget Commercial activities also made huge progress as the number of contracts for tender at PVEP increased to 56 projects during the first half of 2014 With the important task of searching for, exploring and producing oil and gas, PVEP has continually made efforts to renew its image and governance and speed up development and international integration The company has maintained its strategic aim in making PVEP a top international oil and gas company in the region, using Page | 19 modern science and technology, increasing its economic and financial potential and retaining high competitiveness Despite its relatively new arrival in the market compared to many other international oil and gas companies, PVEP has continually improved its management and operation capacities, and at the same time, deployed many breakthrough solutions with respect to organizational structure, human resource development, financial resources and the use of science and technologies Its officers and workers have gone to many remote lands and overcome numerous difficulties to discover natural resources to assist in Vietnam’s growth and prosperity PVEP’s continual success has confirmed that its strategic foresight was the correct one PVEP’s accomplishments have greatly impacted PetroVietnam’s important contributions over the last half-decade 2/ Difficulties facing PVEP and evaluation: Beside the above mentioned achievements, PVEP also have to face huge challenges in commercial activities, especially procurement and tendering process In open tendering, PVEP may be offered only ‘a lottery of prices’ and not necessarily the lowest price for which his project could be carried out If the corporation chooses the lowest tender, it runs the risk the tenderer has not studied the contract sufficiently to appraise the risks involved; or the tenderer might not have the technical or financial resources to undertake the work successfully It is true that PVEP can check the resources and experience of the lowest bidder and reject its tender if the enquiry proves unsatisfactory; but several bids may be below the estimated cost of the job and, if such tenderers appear satisfactory and their bids are not far apart in value, it is difficult for PVEP to choose other than the lowest Page | 20 In addition, companies doing business like internationally like PVEP must deal with matters concerning foreign legal systems, different customs and, possibly, different languages This can cause problems with international procurement Other problems include dealing in a different currency and facing risks from fluctuations in exchange rates Misunderstandings may arise with trading and tendering contracts, for example, when PVEP opens an Invitation to Tender to Venezuela, and it may be difficult to undertake dispute resolution procedures or obtain compensation Financing and settling payment for international contracts is more complex and risky than for domestic contracts It is also more difficult for PVEP to know about the customer in another country and this can create an increased risk of default owing to the insolvency of the customer or dissatisfaction with the goods or services supplied Problems with international trade may arise from government regulations in areas such as product standards or health and safety, and the possibility of political intervention in the form of freezing of funds or seizure of property There also may be increased risk from unforeseen occurrences such as war or natural disaster In the absence of direct and close relationship between PVEP and its vendors, it may lack information about foreign businessmen and therefore, special steps are necessary to verify the creditworthiness of foreign corporations It is difficult to obtain reliable information concerning the financial position of the foreign vendors 3/ Proposed measures to the problems: In order to address those problems, PVEP needs to carry out a number of actions Firstly, it needs to make sure that procurement continues to demand only those outcomes that our suppliers are capable of providing This does not prevent Page | 21 procurement professionals from encouraging the supply market to provide more But procurement professionals need to acknowledge that building competitive markets requires competing suppliers Secondly, compliance with standards, requirements and processes is important, and the way PVEP measures the compliance of both its staff and its suppliers will influence its behavior A key factor in influencing its behavior is the complexity and the cost of compliance PVEP can resolve this internal conflict by making compliance part of its culture In addition, PVEP needs to establish tender as a discipline that is capable of adapting readily to an ever changing world; build teams, skills and processes that enable it to develop a community of procurement professionals who can deliver best value from individual procurements Page | 22 Conclusion Along with the development of the economy in Vietnam, state-owned enterprises are also step by step expanding and enhancing the quality of work with the increased investment in infrastructure and facilities This inevitably leads to intense competition among enterprises that play the role of suppliers for goods and services, particularly for larger corporations such as Petro Vietnam Exploration Production Corporation - where the budget for procurement activities is up to hundreds of billion VND per year For competitions to be transparent and effective, the tender method plays a vital role and can ensure the effectiveness of procurement, which is not only advantageous for vendors but also for contractors The tendering method has only been emerging in our country but has proved to be suitable for our path to become a market economy Although having had significant achievements in tendering activities, PVEP also faced a number of shortcomings Therefore, measures to tackle the problems should come not only from the state but also from related parties in the tendering process This can make PVEP maintain the position of the leading corporation of PetroVietnam and play a vital role in the development of Vietnam's economy After the internship at the Commercial Division of PVEP and choosing the topic "The actual status of Tendering activities at PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation”, I have gained some insights into the actual commercial activities in general and the tendering process in particular, which has added invaluable knowledge to what I have studied at Foreign Trade University Although this report may still have many limitations, it has partially codified some general information about PetroVietnam, PetroVietnam Exploration Production Page | 23 Corporation, the fields of operation, the markets for tendering and procurement activities, the achievements of and problems facing PVEP in its tendering activities I am looking forward to the feedback and comments from lecturer Vu Thanh Toan for the report to be more complete Page | 24 ... internship at the Commercial division of PetroVietnam Exploration Production, I have studied in depth and chosen the following subject: The tendering process at the commercial division of PetroVietnam. .. position of the leading corporation of PetroVietnam and play a vital role in the development of Vietnam's economy After the internship at the Commercial Division of PVEP and choosing the topic "The. .. actual status of Tendering activities at PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation , I have gained some insights into the actual commercial activities in general and the tendering process