Chevron Closes Sale of Vietnam Upstream Assets to PetroVietnam

   By Eric Yep and Vu Trong Khanh 
 

SINGAPORE--Chevron Corp. (CVX) Wednesday closed the sale of its stake in exploration blocks and a pipeline project in Vietnam to state-run Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, for an undisclosed amount of money.

The move represents Chevron's exit from Vietnam's upstream oil and gas sector, as the oil major trims its global portfolio.

Chevron said it has sold its stake in two production sharing contracts in Vietnam, which includes a 42.4% interest in Blocks B and 48/95, and a 43.4% interest in Block 52/97. It has also sold its 28.7% non-operated working interest in a pipeline project to supply natural gas to utilities in southern Vietnam.

PetroVietnam's chairman Nguyen Xuan Son is in Singapore to close the deal. Chevron and PetroVietnam couldn't reach an agreement over the price of gas to be produced from the blocks, said an official in Hanoi, who declined to be named.

The official said PetroVietnam will now need a renewed investment license from the government for operating the exploration blocks, which is just a procedural step.

PetroVietnam had said in April it would resume work at Block B in June, after taking over from Chevron. It said the block is expected to produce 13.9 million cubic meters of gas and between 6,000 and 7,000 barrels of condensate a day. It expected first gas output to be brought onshore by 2019 or 2020.

Write to Eric Yep at [e-mail]

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