Vietnam and Russia have signed an agreement to extend their Vietsovpetro oil joint venture beyond 2010, on a new legal basis and with a view to operating in other countries, Vietnam's prime minister said.

The venture between Vietnamese oil monopoly Petrovietnam and Russian company Zarubezhneft was created in 1991. There have been suggestions in Vietnam that it should be moved to a more commercial footing from its current inter-governmental basis.
"The joint venture will not cease its activity, but continue to work on a different legal basis in Vietnam, in Russia and in third countries," Nguyen Tan Dung said after meeting his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov.
Vietsovpetro pumps about 180,000 barrels per day from Vietnam's offshore White Tiger field.