Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 5 -- Vietnam has approved an agreement with China to jointly explore for oil and gas offshore in the Gulf of Tonkin. The deal was signed during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Hanoi last November.
The agreement, reached by China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Petrovietnam, outlines a joint operation in an undisclosed area of the gulf that is undisputed by either side.
Officials did not disclose details about the timetable, specific blocks, or level of investment.
Vietnam and China currently do not agree over the maritime border in certain areas of the gulf, but both sides are said to have expressed a desire to reach resolution on them by 2008.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
