Vietnam signs oil deal

Vietnam signs oil deal

HANOI (AFP): State-owned PetroVietnam has signed a deal to
explore for oil and gas off the country's southern coast with a
consortium of American and Canadian corporations, the official
Vietnam News daily reported Saturday.

Under the contract signed on Friday by PetroVietnam, American
OPECO International Inc. and Canadian Petroleum Vietnam Ltd., the
three companies will explore an oil field in the South Con Son
area off Vietnam's coast.

The oilfield, located about 300 kilometers (186 miles) off the
southern oil hub of Vung Tau is believed to have large deposits
of crude oil and natural gas.

PetroVietnam has recently begun commercial exploitation of
Vietnam's fourth oilfield, the Bunga Kekwa oilfield located off
its southern continental shelf with Malaysian firm Petronas,
Britain's International Petroleum Company and Sweden's Sands
Petroleum.