State oil and gas group Petrovietnam has made a bid to purchase $1.5 billion in Vietnamese oil assets in the South China Sea from ConocoPhillips , a senior Petrovietnam official said, its formal move for the stakes in the disputed waters. The Hanoi-based group plans to do its utmost to acquire the assets, Nguyen Tien Dung, Petrovietnam's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, told Reuters on Monday.In July, Petrovietnam's CEO had said the company may buy the oil and gas interests in the South China Sea from ConocoPhillips to help protect Hanoi's territorial claims, adding that the U.S. energy firm may sell the assets as it was scaling back its presence, possibly as part of a restructuring.Vietnam and the Philippines have protested against aggressive action by China in the dispute over the resource-rich area, which covers the world's busiest sea lanes and also provides rich fishing.
ConocoPhillips is an international, integrated energy company. Shares of COP remained unchanged at $71.74. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $56.80 and as high as $81.80. On average, 12126400 shares of COP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.
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