India-based ONGC Videsh has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with PetroVietnam to participate in the exploration of oil and gas offshore Vietnam.
Under the LOI, ONGC Videsh will expand its exploration activities in Vietnam by considering its participation in two or three additional blocks.
The LOI provides an option to PetroVietnam to consider participating in several of ONGC Videsh's exploration blocks.
The transaction is subject to technical and commercial viability and requisite approvals.
In 2006, PetroVietnam secured two exploration blocks, Block 127 and Block 128.
Block 127 was relinquished after finishing the work programme and Block 128 is under exploration.
The two firms have also been engaged in negotiating for potential expansion of cooperation in Vietnam's hydrocarbon sector.
Currently, ONGC Videsh is producing around 160,000 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas per day and has total oil and gas reserves of 637 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mmtoe), as of 31 March this year.
ONGC Videsh is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas (ONGC), the national oil company of India.
