HANOI Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:28pm EST

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Vietnam is expected to produce more than 17 million tonnes of crude oil this year (341,000 barrels per day), beating its annual target by at least 5 percent, state oil and gas group Petrovietnam said.

As of Tuesday, the group had pumped 16.21 million tonnes of crude and 9.5 billion cubic metres (cbm) of natural gas, meeting annual targets set by the government, the Hanoi-based group said in a statement.

"Given this pace, the group will beat its production target this year by more than 1 million tonnes of crude oil and 0.5 billion cbm," the statement said.

Vietnam, the third-largest holder of crude oil reserves in Asia, produced 16.71 million tonnes of crude oil in 2013.

The higher forecast this year comes after Petrovietnam began operation of eight new oilfields this year and existing fields including White Rabbit and Diamond also produced more than expected, the group said.

Vietnam's crude oil exports in the first 11 months of the year rose 9.4 percent from a year earlier to an estimated 8.46 million tonnes, based on government data. (Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Ed Davies)