Chinese president Xi Jinping and Vietnamese communist party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong
Vietnam battles for IOCs as China turns up the heat
China is intensifying its pressure on Hanoi to halt IOCs’ offshore drilling activities. Some have already withdrawn and others may follow
Vietnam is facing the prospect of losing heavyweight IOCs from its offshore, as China amplifies pressure to rein in E&P activity that it views as challenging its maritime interests along the so-called Nine Dash Line in the South China Sea. Chinese pressure has this year forced Russia’s Rosneft to shelve a planned drilling campaign, while both Repsol and the UAE’s Mubadala, partners on the Ca Rong Do field, have relinquished offshore stakes to state-owned PetroVietnam—in return for what is understood to have been a compensation package worth around $1bn. Spain’s Repsol announced on 12 June that it would relinquish its 51.75pc stake in block 07/03 and blocks 135-136 in Vietnam. The IOC dis
Also in this section
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026
1 December 2025
The North African producer’s first bidding round in almost two decades is an important milestone but the recent extension suggests a degree of trepidation
