VIETNAM TO EXPLORE FOR OIL IN CAMBODIA

[Monibuth Hun]

Asia Pulse


November 13, 2009 Friday 2:22 PM EST


VIETNAM TO EXPLORE FOR OIL IN CAMBODIA

*DATELINE:* HANOI Nov 13

The PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP) and Cambodia
s National Petroleum Authority (CNPA) signed a contract on Nov. 12 to drill
for oil in block XV, northeast of Tonle Sap Lake , on Cambodia's mainland.

Under the contract, signed by PVEP's President and CEO Nguyen Vu Truong Son
and the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister cum CNPA Chairman Sok An, the
Vietnamese partner will hold a 100 percent interest.

The project will be managed and operated by PVEP-Mekong, a subsidiary of
PVEP which is currently operating oil fields in Laos and Myanmar .

The duration of the contract is 30 years for oil and 35 years for gas and
exploration is expected to take seven years.

According to Nguyen Vu Truong Son, the contract plays an important role in
developing the comprehensive relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia, and
is also a breakthrough for the two countries in working together in the oil
and gas industry.

The contract is PVEP's 55th project and the 17th project it operates by
itself.

(VNA)