Demand for gas in expanding rapidly in Southeast Asia and Vietnam is no exception. LNG is in demand as an energy source for industrial parks around Ho Chi Minh City in the country's south. There are plans to build LNG facilities, including at the port of Thi Vai near the city.

About $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year though the energy-rich, strategic waters of the South China Sea, where China's territorial claims overlap in parts with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The agreement provides for the expansion of cooperation between the parties in Russia, Vietnam and third countries in the area of hydrocarbon exploration and production (including offshore), processing, commerce and logistics, as well as staff training. The parties agreed to consider potential options for joint projects and define the basic terms of cooperation as well as establish a working group for each of the areas of cooperation.

The parties plan to examine further opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon prospecting, exploration and development. Among the opportunities being considered are joint activities within new projects at licensed blocks on the shelf of Vietnam and in third countries.

The parties focused, inter alia, on the exploration activities in blocks 112 and 129–132 and the joint development of the Moc Tinh and Hai Thach fields. It was noted that the construction of 12 production wells, three production platforms, a floating hydrocarbon storage terminal, and a submarine pipeline system had been completed at these fields. The total accumulated production from the Moc Tinh and Hai Thach fields since its launch in 2013 has now reached 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas and 1.1 million tons of gas condensate.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. towed the rig, known as HYSY 981, into a disputed area of the South China Sea in May 2014, triggering an uproar in Vietnam. Anti-Chinese riots broke out in several parts of the country while Chinese and Vietnamese coast-guard and fishing vessels stood off against each other at sea.

In addition to Vietnam, Rosneft also has oil-producing assets in Venezuela and Canada. It has exploration prospects in several other countries, including in Mozambique and the US in partnership with ExxonMobil.

Rosneft Vietnam B.V., a company of Rosneft Group, and Japan Drilling Co., Ltd. (JDC) represented by its subsidiary Hakuryu 5, Inc. signed an agreement on provision and operation of the marine drilling rig HAKURYU-5, for the purposes of drilling exploration wells within the framework of Rosneft’s projects in Vietnam. It is planned to drill two wells in Blocks 06.1 and 05-3/11 in the Nam Con Son basin offshore Vietnam in 2016.

Aug 25 A Chinese oil rig at the centre of last year's standoff between China and Vietnam will continue drilling not far from Vietnam's coast, China's maritime safety authorities said on Tuesday.

Russia’s JSC Gazprom Neft has entered an agreement with Vietnam National Oil & Gas Group (PetroVietnam) to purchase a 49% interest in the 6.5 million-tonne/year Dung Quat refinery.