The MoU was signed by PetroVietnam Chairman Nguyen Xuan Son and President and CEO of Murphy Oil Corporation Roger W. Jenkins, on the occasion of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to the United States. Murphy sees the Vietnamese market as an area with long-term development potential and values PetroVietnam as a dynamic and effective partner.
The corporation is especially interested in participating in the development of the Block B gas project, the Malaysia - Tho Chu basin in Vietnam and a number of blocks in Cuu Long basin. The corporation has invited PetroVietnam to take part in its projects in Mexico Bay.
Son and his entourage also met the Vice Chairman of ExxonMobil for the Asia Pacific region, Raymond E. Jones, and the group’s other senior officials. During the meeting, Jones greatly appreciated PetroVietnam’s efforts along with ExxonMobil, to advance the Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) project, located off the coast of Vietnam. He spoke of the project’s progress so far and about preparation to draw up plans for the gas field in future.
Son affirmed that the cooperation agreement and contracts signed with ExxonMobil will be implemented as schedule with the aim of the two companies sharing and creating the most favourable conditions to develop together. He urged ExxonMobil to use advanced technologies to exploit the gas field in the most effective way, minimising spending and lowering costs. He said the two sides should work together to find answers to issues such as gas consumption, the price of gas and commercial conditions.
PetroVietnam will ask the Vietnamese Government to find ways to build gas-fired power plants in the central region, as well as draw up policies to help gas distributors develop their operations in the region, he said. It will also propose investment incentives to develop the project, he added.
In 2013, an agreement on the Ca Voi Xanh platform development project was signed between the two companies in Washington, with the aim of creating a schedule, a strategy and an overall plan for the project.
The project is scheduled to begin supplying gas and power by 2021.
