The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group’s biggest subsidiary PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corp (PVEP) on Jan. 27 signed a long-term credit loan worth 430 million USD contributed by 14 foreign banks.

PVEP’s first syndicated loan was arranged by the Standard Chartered Bank to help the PVEP expand oil and gas exploration and exploitation operation.

Hanoi-based PVEP has a high demand for upstream projects, including 39 local investment ones and 18 oversea ones.

In 2010, its production reached 17.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent and reserve increased by 33.7 million tonns of oil equivalent, surpassing 7 percent and 20 percent of its plan, respectively.

The Corp ranked 10 th in the list of top 500 Vietnamese companies, VNR500, announced by Vietnam Report in November. In 2009, it was in 12th place./.