Vietnam hopes Zarubezhneft, Petrovietnam will have opportunity to work on Russian shelf
MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax) - Vietnam hopes that Zarubezhneft and Petrovietnam will have the opportunity to cooperate in Russia not just in the context of the joint venture Rusvietpetro, but also through joint work on the Russian shelf - particularly in the Barents Sea, Zarubezhneft quoted Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as saying during a meeting with Zarubezhneft chief Nikolai Brunich in Hanoi.
On its website, Zarubezhneft said that Brunich expressed the desire for the Vietnamese government to provide Zarubezhneft's and Petrovietnam's Vietnamese JV - Vietsovpetro - with the opportunity to develop oil-bearing sections located near the White Tiger field. This would accelerate the commissioning of new sections and help maintain Vietsovpetro's production at 6 million tonnes per year.
This summer, Rusvietpetro plans to commission the third field at the Central Khoreyver Uplift (CKU) in the Nenets Autonomous District - West Khosedayu. Cumulative oil production at CKU will top 2 million tonnes this year, Brunich said.
Rusvietpetro is developing 13 deposits at CKU. In 2010, it launched the first field in the area - North Khosedayu. In 2011, it brought the second field on-line - Visovoye. CKU's cumulative reserves reach roughly 100 million tonnes. Oil production could be brought to its plateau of about 4.7-5 million tonnes in 2014-2015.
Vietsovpetro develops two fields on the Vietnam shelf - White Tiger and Dragon at block 09-1. The JV entered into operations in 1981 and reached its production peak of 13.5 million tonnes in 2002. Later, production began to steadily decline, settling at 6.4 million tonnes in 2011.
Brunich assured Nguyen Tan Dung that cooperation between Zarubezhneft and Petrovietnam will continue not just on existing, but also on future projects, in Russia, Vietnam and third countries.