OREANDA-NEWS. June 27, 2014. Citing safety concerns, a Chinese company that was organizing an international oil conference to be held in Vietnam later this month has canceled it, underscoring how tensions between China and Vietnam are affecting business in the latter’s oil and gas sector.

Shanghai-based Neoventure Corp. had planned to hold the 3rd Offshore Convention Vietnam 2014 from June 25-28 in Ho Chi Minh City. In an email to its delegates, Neoventure said it had “consulted concerned departments in the past few days in both countries” and was told that holding the conference was “not recommended if not completely necessary.”

It said it didn’t want to “risk the safety of the conference participants” at such a sensitive time.
The conference brochure listed potential speakers from companies including state-run PetroVietnam, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production PTTEP.TH -0.91%, London-based Premier Oil PMO.LN -0.47% PLC, Canada’s Talisman Energy TLM.T +0.52%, India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd. and U.S.-based Murphy Oil Corp.MUR +0.28%

It also mentioned participation by Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd. or Petronas, Indonesia’s PT Pertamina, Exxon Mobil Corp.XOM +0.30% and Russia’s state-run Gazprom OAO OGZPY +2.35%.

Relations between Beijing and Hanoi have been severely strained since China’s offshore exploration company, China National Offshore Oil Corp., parked an oil rig in disputed waters offshore Vietnam.

The placement of the oil rig was followed by repeated clashes between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels near the rig, and prompted violent anti-China riots at factories in Vietnam that claimed several lives.

China has previously protested against exploration work in disputed Vietnamese waters by foreign companies, including India’s flagship explorer ONGC, and is expected to continue doing so.

While several energy companies have quit Vietnam in the past, Hanoi continues to invite oil companies backed by governments such as Russia to counter China’s presence.

On Tuesday, PetroVietnam signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia’s JSC Zarubezhneft for joint oil and gas exploration at two blocks offshore central Vietnam, Vietnamese state media reported.