"Rosneft" company will be engaged in the development of Vietnam gas blocks owned by the US Chevron. This Forbes said a source close to one of the companies, and confirmed an employee of this company. The plot is on the shelf in the Malay Basin of Vietnam, the exploration of which Chevron engaged in more than six years, went to the Russian company, because the Americans have not been able to negotiate with the local government about the price of gas.
The "Rosneft" more trumps to reach a compromise: the friendship between the two countries reinforces the fact that the oil company headed by Igor Sechin has invited the Vietnamese oil and gas monopoly Petrovietnam on the Russian shelf.

In this battle, "Rosneft" has bypassed not only Chevron, and "Gazprom".

"Today I gave colleagues from Petrovietnam proposal for cooperation in eight blocks in the Pechora Sea shelf", - said the president of "Rosneft" Igor Sechin, in May 2013. A year later, the company can celebrate: gas blocks to 170 billion cubic meters of gas (Sechin called on the Vietnamese land with reserves of around 70 billion cubic meters) instead of Amerikanskoy Chevron is going to develop it.

Chevron won the right for exploration work on almost 7000 square meters. m offshore field in Vietnam in 2006, and two years later reported successes. 170 billion cubic meters of natural gas was discovered in the basin of Malay in the south-west of the country. It can produce up to 490 million cubic meters of gas and 7,000 barrels of condensate per day.

Chevron's - the project operator and owner of it 42% stake - was going to invest up to $ 2 billion of its total cost of $ 4 billion (25.6% more in the project belongs to the Japanese Mitsui Oil Exploration, 23,5% - local Petrovietnam and 8, 5% - Thailand's PTT Exploration). The project involved the construction of a gas pipeline costing $ 1 billion, and power.

However, more Americans are making no progress in Vietnam. In 2009, Chevron representative in Vietnam Jim Ollen admitted that the beginning of the project for gas production is postponed from 2012 to 2014-th. The company could not reach an agreement with the Vietnamese oil and gas monopoly Petrovietnam on gas prices. Five years have passed, but Chevron still not started the production. Chevron insisted on a price of $ 250-385 per thousand cubic meters of gas, While Vietnam is willing to pay no more than $ 231, wrote the Indian The Business line.

"Rosneft" has obviously been easier. His first Vietnamese asset the company has received only a year ago - a legacy from the TNK-BP bought it. "TNK-Vietnam" held 35% in the offshore block 06.1 - the largest source of gas in Vietnam with capacity 4.7 billion cubic meters of fuel per year. It includes two gas condensate fields. Also, "Rosneft" got 32.7% in the Nam Con Son pipeline and 33.3% in the power plant Phu My 3. The Vice-President of TNK-BP in international projects and exploration Einchcomb Chris said that "Vietnam - an attractive place for business" and he promised to stay out there for long. Now is probably a promise will be fulfilled, "Rosneft" headed by Igor Sechin.

The website of the American company in the section on its business in Vietnam (updated in May 2014), there was a message: "The final decision on investments [Chevron in the project for the extraction of natural gas in the basin Malay] - awaiting resolution concerning its commercial part. In parallel, the company is also in talks with inPossibility purpose of coming out of it. " At the end of May 2014 the Upstream, an international newspaper specializing in coverage of the oil and gas sector developments, wrote that Chevron's "put behind" Rosneft "the negotiating table, because looking for buyers for its stake in the project on gas production in Vietnam (Block B). Previously, the most likely candidates for the purchase of shares from Chevron in this project considered as "Gazprom" and the Canadian Talisman Energy.

"Gazprom" for a long time on this project was sharpening his teeth, sent people to assess ", - he has confirmed a source close to one of the companies.

"Gazprom" representative declined to comment on the deal with Chevron.

"After the Vietnamese called on the Russian shelf, the" Rosneft "big trump card for the trade-offs in Vietnam", - says the director of analytical agency Small letters Vitaly Kryukov. In his opinion, "the Russian company will be easier to agree on the price of gas - do what failed Chevron».

Vietnam aims to attract Russian and even to counter the influence of China. Between the two countries escalated spoterritorial Spratly archipelago accessories and Paracel Islands, which are concentrated on the shelf of significant reserves of oil and minerals. Since early May, the situation around the disputed waters tense: as claimed by Vietnam in the South China Sea near the islands illegally is a Chinese drilling platform "Haiyang Shiyu 981" and in the last few weeks there constantly arise incidents warships of China and Vietnam. China Aircraft Air Force have repeatedly violated the air space of Vietnam over the South China Sea, Vietnam held anti-China demonstrations.
Vitaly Kryukov of Small letters calls the project perspective, as in hydrocarbons demand domestic market of Vietnam is high - the country buys gas, for example, in "Gazprom". The trend to increase the share of gas in the energy balance continues. "The Vietnamese are interesting to someone came and started to develop their fields, because it requires a lot of money and expertise that Vietnam is not always enough," - says Kryukov.
However, a source close to one of the parties laneegovorov the project, and now doubts that "history will be developed." "Rosneft" representative declined to comment. In Chevron's request Forbes did not respond.