Petrovietnam and BP Consider Gas Hub for Nam Con Son Basin

BP and Petrovietnam are in discussions for the creation of a gas processing hub for Vietnam's Nam Con Son basin, which could involve investment of about $800 million, a BP official said on Monday. The official said talks between Petrovietnam, BP and other foreign firms interested in developing the gas-rich area off southern Vietnam had been under way for several months but were still at an early conceptual stage. The investment would be in addition to a $1.3 billion integrated project that BP is already involved in the Nam Con Son basin. "Petrovietnam is leading a group of people who have an interest in the basin," he said. "They are talking about how they could develop it in the most effective way. "That could mean developing some kind of processing hub for the basin. Also they are considering the expansion of the current Nam Con Son pipeline."

"The group is talking about some rough cost estimate of about $800 million for the developing of the whole basin. That would include the processing hub and expansion of the pipeline. "The gas would come to the one main hub for processing before it is exported or transported somewhere else." He said it had not been decided where a processing hub would be located, although it would be in the vicinity of the basin, or what the timeframe for construction should be.