KNOC signs gas deal in Vietnam

KNOC signs gas deal in Vietnam

HANOI: The Korean National Oil Corp. (KNOC) said on Saturday it had signed a deal to transport natural gas from an offshore platform in southern Vietnam to processing plants via the Nam Con Son sub-sea pipeline.

The deal was signed on Friday in Hanoi by the gas suppliers, KNOC and its local partner, PetroVietnam, and the investors in the 370-kilometer Nam Con Son pipeline -- PetroVietnam, Britain's BP and America's Conoco Phillips.

"The amount of the deal is confidential," said Seong Hoon Kim, executive director of KNOC in Vietnam, refusing to elaborate.

The area in southern Vietnam controlled by KNOC is expected to produce 3.7 million cubic meters of natural gas per day over 23 years. KNOC signed a US$300 million contract in December 2004 to develop the area.

Construction work on the project began in December 2004 and production is expected to start by October 2006.

Gas will help the communist-ruled nation lower the cost of electricity production, demand for which has grown by an average 15 percent annually in recent years. -- AFP