A multi-national private oil and gas consortium (SAONAM PETRO), the first of its kind in Vietnam , made its debut in Hanoi on March 16.

SAONAM PETRO groups high-profile financial and technological foreign groups working in the oil and gas industry, including DSME of the Republic of Korea , AGR of Norway, and Longbeach Oil and Otto Energy of Australia.

Addressing the event, Vice National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien said Vietnam is pursuing an energy development policy and that the inception of SAONAM consortium will create a change in the development of energy resources and the implementation of energy security policy in service of the country’s socio-economic development.

He asked the consortium to soon carry out specific oil and gas projects in Vietnam .

According to SAONAM CEO Pham Van Quang, his group looks forward to participating in the search, exploration, exploitation and development of oil and gas fields offshore.

The consortium plans to investment in infrastructure for the energy sector in Vietnam , including a system of storage facilities, infrastructure for a trans-national gas pipeline, and a network of central gas storage facilities and stations in service of industrial zones and new urban areas.

This year, the SAONAM will concentrate on deploying a production project in marginal gas fields off the country’s continental shelf, and the building of a plant producing Dimethyl Ether (DME) – an organic compound that can replace liquefied petroleum gas – as well as a storage facility in the northern region./.