State oil PetroVietnam would consider acquiring oil and gas assets in Mauritania jointly with U.K. oil explorer Premier Oil Plc. as part of efforts to offset declining production at home, the government said.
The unlisted group would also work with Austrian oil and gas group OMV to acquire assets in Venezuela, the Industry and Trade Ministry, which oversees the oil and gas sector, said in a report on its website Thursday.
The report said PetroVietnam had signed six oil and gas exploration deals in Laos, Tunisia, the Republic of Congo and Iran so far this year, but did not provide details of the acquired assets.
Meanwhile, Vietsovpetro, a 50/50 venture between PetroVietnam and Russian oil group Zarubezhneft, said it aimed to complete negotiations to acquire four oil fields in Russia"s autonomous district of Yamalo-Nenesky this year.
Vietnam"s daily crude production dropped 12 percent in July from June to nearly 290,000 bpd, and is down nearly half from a peak of 434,000 bpd in 2004, due to declines in production at its major fields including Bach Ho and Su Tu Den.
The ministry’s report said crude production reached nearly 8.6 million tons in the first seven months, 53.5 percent of the year’s target. High crude prices have boosted revenue to VND168.5 trillion (more than US$10.1 billion) during the period, posting a year-on-year increase of nearly 76 percent.