Gazprom, Vietnam hold oil, gas talks

Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Biu Dinh Dinh held talks on Wednesday to discuss prospects for bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector, Gazprom's news service said.

"A common opinion was expressed at the meeting about the need to step up interaction between the companies in projects on the development of oil and gas fields on Vietnamese territory as well as joint activities in third countries," the statement says.

Gazprom and PetroVietnam signed a cooperation agreement in November 2006 on the exploration, production, transportation and sale of natural gas, oil and other energy resources, including in third countries.

Vietgazprom, the operating company of Gazprom and PetroVietnam, is exploring block N112 on Vietnam's continental shelf. In addition, the two companies decided to expand exploration to the neighboring block N113.