Viet Nam Oil will explore and exploit oil and gas in the Champasak and Salavan provinces in southern Laos, Vietnam News reported.

The contract-signing ceremony was held with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavat and representatives from the company.

The area to be explored covers 5,459 square miles in both the Champasak and Salavan provinces. The exploration will be nine years and the exploitation time will be 30 years.

Dinh La Thang, a member of the Party Central Committee and chairman of the management board of the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group, pledged to coordinate with ministries and sectors of Laos to fulfill the project effectively.