Gazprom Neft, Petrovietnam to increase collaboration

HANOI, Vietnam -- Gazprom Neft and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) have signed a series of agreements to extend their collaboration.

Alexander Dyukov, chairman of the management board of Gazprom Neft, and Nguyen Xuan Son, chairman of the board of directors of Petrovietnam, signed a memorandum to extend their collaboration on joint oil and gas exploration, production and development projects on the Pechora Sea shelf (at Dolginskoye field and the Severo-Zapadnyi (North West) licensed block).

The two parties have agreed to create a dedicated working group of experts from both companies. By the end of October 2015, the parties will form a list of priority oil and gas fields and agree the basic terms of the partnership before further agreements are signed.

The projects will be implemented via joint ventures of Gazprom Neft and Petrovietnam, in which the stakes of each party will be negotiated.

In addition, Dyukov and Son signed a document outlining key provisions of an agreement allowing Gazprom Neft to acquire a share in the Vietnamese Dung Quat refinery. During the period set out by the agreement, Gazprom Neft will have exclusive rights to negotiate with Petrovietnam on acquiring its shares in the refinery.

In accordance with the agreement previously concluded between Gazprom Neft and Petrovietnam, Gazprom Neft plans to acquire a 49% stake in the plant, which is owned and operated by Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical company.

Plans to modernize the Dung Quat refinery will increase capacity from the existing 6.5m tonnes to 8.5m tonnes per year, and improve the efficiency of its technological processes enabling the plant to switch over to producing Euro-5 standard motor fuels. Gazprom Neft’s share of investment in the modernization project will be proportionate to its share in the plant.