Post by Balay on Jun 12, 2009 8:10:47 GMT 4
PetroVietnam seeks closer ties with Saudi
Jun 11, 2009 at 07:58
State-run PetroVietnam wants closer cooperation with oil-rich Saudi Arabia in exploration and refinery development, state media reported on Thursday.
PetroVietnam and its Saudi counterpart Aramco have agreed in principle to build a petroleum "strategic alliance", the Vietnam News reported.
The agreement came during the first visit to communist Vietnam by Saudi oil minister Ali al-Nuaimi, whose country is the world's leading oil exporter, the report said.
"We hope to get the opportunity to take part in exploring and exploiting oil and gas in Saudi Arabia, especially with the establishment of a joint venture with Saudi Aramco," PetroVietnam director general Tran Ngoc Canh said.
PetroVietnam is the trading name of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group.
Canh said he also wanted to cooperate with Saudi Arabian partners in other areas including training and setting up joint ventures to operate refineries in Vietnam.
In February the country opened its first oil refinery, the $2.5 billion Dung Quat facility in central Quang Ngai province. The refinery is expected to produce 6.5 million tonnes a year or 148,000 barrels per day, about 30 percent of the country's needs.
Vietnam News said PetroVietnam in February signed a memorandum of understanding with Aramco to provide crude for Dung Quat.
PetroVietnam is designing another refinery, in the north, and has tentative plans for a third in a bid to attain energy autonomy for the country.
Vietnam is rich in offshore oil reserves located in the South China Sea but until Dung Quat opened it imported all its petroleum products.