U.S. firm wins oil deal

U.S. firm wins oil deal

HANOI (AFP): U.S.-based Vietnam American Exploration Co. (Vamex) has signed a production sharing contract to explore offshore oil with PetroVietnam, the company said Tuesday.

The 30-year contract covers exploration and production of two blocks covering 6,874 square kilometers (2,750 square miles) lying 350 kilometers (217 miles) southeast of Vietnam, said a Vamex release.

The blocks are adjacent to an offshore gas field operated by BP Amoco, Statoil and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. of India with PetroVietnam that has two trillion cubic feet (60 billion cubic metres) of gas reserves.

However, Vamex president Melvin Jackson said the blocks overlap waters claimed by Indonesia, so sea boundary claims needed to be resolved before exploration could proceed.

"We are not going start exploration until Petrovietnam and the government of Vietnam resolve the issues with Indonesia," he told AFP.