Translated material
Hydrocarbon balance
The President of Vietnam brought good news to Russian oil and gas workers
The official visit of Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet to Moscow was marked by new contracts for Russian oil and gas workers. There are no differences between the countries in the political sphere. “The negotiations confirmed the mood for a strategic partnership,” said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Therefore, the heads of the two states focused on economic issues. “Economic cooperation has been developing well recently, but does not yet correspond to the level of political ties between the two countries,” the Vietnamese leader believes.Russia and Vietnam shared ambitious plans to increase the pace of mutual trade. At the end of last year, trade turnover amounted to $1 billion, and as a result, it is expected to reach $1.5 billion. According to Mr. Medvedev, there are plans to increase it to $3 billion, and subsequently to $10 billion.
The mutual interests of the two countries are most closely intertwined in oil and gas production. “We intend to jointly continue geological exploration in Russia, Vietnam and third countries,” said Mr. Medvedev. In the presence of the two presidents, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, signed a contract for the development of four blocks of the Vietnamese continental shelf with the Petrovietnam company. They will also work in Russia. The parties will create a joint venture that will develop the Nagumanovskoye gas condensate field in the Orenburg region. Gazprom, represented by its subsidiary Gazpromzarubezhneftegaz, will own 51% in the joint venture, and the Vietnamese side will receive 49%.
In addition, the Vietnamese will also participate in the development of oil fields on Russian territory. The Zarubezhneft company signed a preliminary agreement with the Petrovietnam company on the concession of 49% in the authorized capital of the Rusvietpetro company. The controlling stake will remain with the Russian side. As Zarubezhneft General Director Nikolai Brunich explained to the newspaper, the company will operate in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
“Oil exports,” one of the Russian negotiators told Vremya Novostey, “brings up to 85% of foreign exchange earnings to the Vietnamese budget, so the country is extremely interested in increasing production. Theoretically, Vietnam's southern shelf is rich in oil fields, but the exact reserves are unknown. There is gas on the northern shelf, but there has been virtually no geological exploration there yet.”
The President of Vietnam, having taken the floor, first of all thanked his Russian colleague for his assistance in the fight against the aggressor. The bewilderment on the faces of those sitting in the hall showed that the American aggression in Vietnam in the early 70s of the last century was not immediately remembered by them. “The world must be multipolar and safer than the one that exists today. We are ready to work together both at the UN Security Council and at regional platforms such as APEC and ASEAN. Where the word of Russia and Vietnam is of significant importance,” believes Mr. Medvedev.
From the Kremlin, Nguyen Minh Triet headed to the White House. As it turns out, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is his ideal politician.
During his meeting with Mr. Putin, the Vietnamese president told what he called a “humorous story.” “When I was elected president of Vietnam, many fellow revolutionaries told me that I should learn from Putin and imitate his example, since Mr. Putin managed to change the image of Russia and increase its role in the international arena. For my part, I said that I probably won’t be able to do this, but I will try to learn from Mr. Putin,” said Nguyen Minh Triet.
The Russian prime minister, in turn, recalled that both countries have veterans of both the Second World War and the Vietnam War. “The heroic behavior of our veterans is an example for everyone, both current and future generations. These qualities of veterans and feelings bring the peoples of Russia and Vietnam closer together. This spiritual closeness is the basis that allows us to develop our relations and underlies their future,” Mr. Putin emphasized.