Pipeliners

MOSCOW, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Russian energy monopoly Gazprom received a license for four blocks in gas fields located in the waters off the coast of Vietnam. Gazprom and PetroVietnam signed bilateral agreements to develop four blocks in October following meetings between high-level officials. The license for the four offshore south Vietnamese fields is in place for the next three decades, with the option for five-year extensions, the Platts news agency reported Monday. The four blocks encompass 17,647 square miles. The project operator will be a joint venture, Vietgazprom, between the Gazprom energy giant and PetroVietnam. Gazprom in 2007 said exploratory results at one of the blocks produced initial natural gas flow rates of about 14.1 million cubic feet per day.