Gazprom signs deal on gas motor fuel JV in Vietnam
HANOI. Nov 12 (Interfax) - Gazprom has signed an agreement with PetroVietnam to form a joint venture to carry out a project to use gas as motor fuel in Vietnam, an Interfax correspondent reported from the signing ceremony.
Reports have said the companies would coordinate efforts to convert public transport in Ho Chi Minh City to gas.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told reporters the joint venture would be set up on an equal footing.
The share of PV Gas of the charter capital in PVGazprom NGV will be 50%. Gazprom Gas Motor Fuel LLC and Gazprom International will represent Gazprom in the JV each with a 25% stake, the Gazprom press service said.
The starting point in the process will be southern Vietnam. Natural gas from Nam Con Son basin deposits and associated petroleum gas from Cuu Long basin deposits will go the gas refineries Nam Con Son Terminal and Dinh Co. near the city of Vung Tau for purification and subsequent liquefaction. The LNG will then be transported to Ho Chi Minh City. Following regasification, the compressed natural gas will be delivered to filling stations country-wide.
"This is a new area in our business," he said. "Gazprom operates on the Vietnamese shelf, produces gas, and we and Vietnamese state oil and gas company PetroVietnam have agreed today to form a joint venture," Miller said.
"Without doubt, gas as a motor fuel is a big saving for the budget, and the most important thing for us is to gain entry to a very extensive Vietnamese market," Miller said.
He said the company's aim was to supply 500 million cu m of gas per year to the Vietnamese motor fuel market. "The company will start to work on the whole Vietnamese market right away. Although originally we thought we'd only work in selected regions," Miller said.