VIETNAM

Foreign Bids to Be Sought on Natural Gas Projects: PetroVietnam, the state-owned oil and gas monopoly, said it will invite foreign companies to bid on up to $400 million worth of natural gas projects as early as November. The projects are aimed at developing Vietnam’s embryonic gas industry to meet rising domestic energy needs and boost export earnings, said Nguyen Trong Hanh, a director for PetroVietnam. Under the company’s plan, a plant would be built to extract liquid from gas pumped at the Bach Ho oil and gas field, Vietnam’s only producing commercial oil field. PetroVietnam plans to export gas after satisfying domestic needs.