TNK-BP and PetroVietnam may set up Russian joint venture

BP's Russian joint venture TNK-BP and Vietnam's state-owned oil and gas corporation PetroVietnam are in talks over setting up a joint venture in Russia, the Vietnamese company said on Thursday.
"In accordance with a memorandum of cooperation, both parties will discuss establishing a joint company for exploration and production in Russia," the company said in a statement.
TNK-BP will also think of investing in Vietnam's Dung Quat refinery.
Media reports say BP, one of the largest foreign producers of natural gas in southern Vietnam, can sell its assets in the country. The assets, including stakes in four gas deposits, a power plant and a gas pipeline, make up the Nam Con Son gas project worth $1.3 billion.
Sources close to the company say BP may sell various assets across the world worth $15 billion to finance the clean-up program following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reuters sources said that India's ONGC, Thailand's PTTEP and two Chinese oil and gas giants Sinopec and CNOC are interested in BP's Vietnamese assets.
Stan Polovets, chief executive of AAR consortium, which represents TNK-BP's Russian partners, has said that TNK-BP will discuss any purchase of BP assets, which may give strategic and operational advantages.