PetroVietnam expands natural gas

HANOI, Vietnam, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- State-run PetroVietnam said it plans to invest close to $4.5 billion in natural gas production until 2010 to meet growing domestic demand.

Recent shortages have forced PetroVietnam to rely on imports from Malaysia and Indonesia.

"The money will be raised from various sources, including local and foreign enterprises, banks and individuals," said Chairman Dinh La Thang.

The investment will be used as a capital fund for exploration, and building pipelines, storage facilities and refineries.

In addition to the new funding, construction has been sped up on pipelines from Phu My to HCM City, and from the PM3 offshore platform to Ca Mau and PV Gas, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, is in talks with Chevron to explore for natural gas at Block B 52/97.

The supply issues and reliance on imports have been causing price volatility and government intervention like price increases.