The Bach Ho oil field (White Tiger oilfield) is a major oil field in the Cuu Long basin of the East Sea located offshore due east of the Mekong Delta. Over the last seven years, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) signed three new contracts only.Nguyen Quoc Thap, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Association, said that several laws related to the operation of the oil and gas industry, such as Law on Public Investment, Law on Investment and Law on Enterprise and Law on Management and Use of State Capital enacted after Petroleum Law in 1993 leading to an overlapping and duplication that needed to be handled soon. He noted that essential investigation of the oil and gas industry involved many risks. Therefore, it needs to conduct more specific regulations.Nguyen Quoc Thap said that oil prices fluctuated unpredictably and the draft law mentioned the increasing cost while failing to mention the decrease in oil prices. As a result, the law would affect oil and gas industry development.The Vietnam Oil and Gas Association has asked the Law Compiling Committee to conduct more specific regulations relating to other laws, such as the Law on Construction.Thap said the revised Law on Petroleum needed to regulate the rights and responsibilities of PetroVietnam in approving oil and gas projects.The National Assembly will discuss the draft revised Petroleum Law this week./.
