Vietnam approves joint oil exploration with China

HANOI, Jan 5 (Reuters) Vietnam has granted approval for state oil Petrovietnam and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) to jointly explore for oil and gas in the Gulf of Tonkin, a government report said.

The plan was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who ordered Petrovietnam and relevant state agencies to secure Vietnam's economic interest during the implementation of the project, the report seen on Friday said.

Petrovietnam and several foreign oil firms, including France's Total and Japan's Idemitsu, conducted exploration in the 1980's and 1990's, but none of the findings were commercial.

CNOOC, China's offshore oil giant, also signed an agreement in March last year with the Philippines National Oil Corporation and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation for joint data collection in the South China Sea.

REUTERS DKS VV1728