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.