Vietnam, Russia's gas tieup

Vietnam, Russia's gas tieup

HANOI (Reuters): State oil monopoly Petrovietnam and a unit of Russia's gas giant Gazprom plan to set up a venture soon to tap natural gas off Vietnam's central coast, official media reported on Thursday.

The Saigon Times Daily newspaper said Petrovietnam's Petroleum Investment and Development Co and Gazprom's Zarubezhneftegaz would tap the gas from Block 112 in the Tonkin Gulf off the central provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

A Petrovietnam official said a Russian delegation would soon visit Hanoi to formalize the joint venture contract after an agreement on overall cooperation in Block 112 was reached last September in Moscow during a visit by Vietnam's Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.

The official gave no further details but the Saigon Times Daily said the venture, Vietgazprom, would operate for 25 years in several phases. The paper said the Russian side would spend US$38 million in the first three years on a geological survey and test drilling.