Russian energy ties receive boost

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, photo: VNA

During an official visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on November 18-19, he and Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed that Vietnam and Russia will expedite key co-operation projects in the sectors of energy, industry, transport, agriculture, IT, digital technology, and e-government.

In particular, they stressed both nations’ strong determination to construct a $350 million nuclear science and technology centre in Vietnam in the near future.

“Of course, there are a number of projects which we will promote. Today, our friends from Vietnam have issued a permit for the nuclear research centre, and we have just exchanged corresponding documents, or rather, a certificate was issued,” PM Medvedev told the press. “This is also indicative of the trust-based and very important relations between the two states.”

In June 2017, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology on the construction of the centre in Vietnam. An intergovernmental agreement to build the centre was inked by the two nations in 2011.

The centre will be equipped with Russian-designed research reactors, a multipurpose cyclotron, as well as research laboratories, an engineering complex, equipment, and infrastructure to ensure safe operations.

Meanwhile, Vietnam and Russia have also pledged to continue boosting oil and gas co-operation, with companies from both nations facilitating the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in their respective territories. They also committed to expand co-operation to other lucrative sectors such as liquefied natural gas and gas power.

“There are major projects that take time to implement,­ ­including energy projects. As you are aware, we have flagship projects like Vietsovpetro, which is already 35 years old and generates hundreds of millions of dollars for its participants,” PM Medvedev said. “These are ongoing projects. Moreover, we are considering the possibility of developing new areas and new fields. We discussed all of this today and, in all likelihood, we will implement all of that.”

Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov told VIR that Russia wants to expand its investment in Vietnam in many sectors.

“Regarding the energy sector, Russian companies have been operating in Vietnam effectively for a long time. Up to 30 per cent of crude oil and about 25 per cent of gas exploited in Vietnam are exploited by enterprises involving Russian investment, such as companies of Zarubezhneft, Rosneft, and Gazprom,” he said.

Currently, all of Russia’s largest oil and gas companies work in Vietnam, while PetroVietnam has operations in Russia. Joint enterprises – Vietsovpetro, Rusvietperto and Gaspromviet – successfully extract hydrocarbons. For example, Vietsovpetro has already extracted 230 million tonnes of oil. This company accounts for about a third of Vietnam’s oil production.

“Another important task for us is to implement the intergovernmental protocol on the establishment in Vietnam of GAZ and KAMAZ automobile-assembling companies. I hope that in the near future, all procedures for the establishment will be completed, and Russian auto firms can operate well in Vietnam,” said the ambassador.

During this visit, Vietnam’s largest passion fruit juice producer and exporter Nafoods Group signed a MoU with Russia’s Voskhod STM. Under the MoU, during 2019-2020, both companies will build a 30-hectare fruit processing plant in Russia.

Nafoods’ chairman Nguyen Manh Hung said that Nafoods will officially open a representative office in Moscow later this year. This MoU not only marks the co-operation between the two companies, but also contributes to bring the Vietnam’s clean agricultural products to Russian consumers.

Currently, Russia has 118 projects in Vietnam, registered at $931 million. Vietnam has 13 projects worth about $3 billion in Russia.