PetroVietnam Mulls Buying Part Of BP Stake In Vietnam Gas Block -Official

HANOI (Dow Jones)--Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, is considering buying part of BP PLC's (BP) assets in a gas block offshore Vietnam, an official with the state-run company said Tuesday. "We are considering (the purchase), but nothing else can be said at this stage," said the official, who didn't want to be named. BP said last week that it would sell its assets in Vietnam to partly cover the cost of its massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP holds a 35% stake in the block, which it operates. India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (500312.BY) owns 45%, while PetroVietnam owns the remaining 20%. India's oil minister Murli Deora said last Thursday that Vietnam had agreed to let ONGC buy BP's stake, adding that it wasn't yet decided if the Indian oil firm would buy the entire stake. "We have cash in hand for the possible purchase," the PetroVietnam official said adding that the firm will not have to speed up its planned bond sale. PetroVietnam will sell bonds on the international market later this year, the official said, adding that a detailed timetable and the size of the bond sale are yet to be finalized. -By Vu Trong Khanh, Dow Jones Newswires; +84 4 35123042; trong-khanh.vu@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 27, 2010 00:51 ET (04:51 GMT)