Vietnam to step up efforts to invest in Kazakhstan oil fields
HANOI - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the Ministry of Industry and PetroVietnam to step up efforts to invest in oil fields in Kazakhstan, according to a government statement Friday.
"The Ministry of Industry should instruct PetroVietnam to urgently outline specific moves, including forming the joint cooperation to tap in the oil fields which are proposed by Kazakhstan," the government said on its Web site.
The statement didn't name any oil fields that Vietnam intends to explore.
In December 2006, PetroVietnam said it planned to join forces with Russian oil company Zarubezneft to bid for a stake in Karazhanbas oil field, which has an estimated 160 million metric tons of oil reserves, or 1.17 billion barrels, in western Kazakhstan.
PetroVietnam said Friday its production this year is expected to fall about 1 million tons to 16.5 million tons because the company failed to buy an oil field in Kazakhstan.
In addition to tapping the oil sector, the ministries of trade, finance and industry seek investment opportunities in the mechanical manufacturing and mineral exploiting industries in Kazakhstan.
To boost cooperation with the Central Asian country, a Vietnamese embassy will be built and a direct flight between Hanoi and Almaty will be launched, the government said.
By Nguyen Pham Muoi - Dow Jones Newswires - July 13, 2007.
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