Following is the text of the release, excerpted in it's entirety:

 

"DATE: May,18, 2009 

 

Dow Jones quoted that Vietnam's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said Russia's OAO Gazprom signed an agreement to supply its underground coal-gasification technology to Vietnam.

The ministry said in a statement that he agreement was signed in Hanoi with Vietnam's Dong Duong Co. Dong Duong will use the technology for gas production in the Red River coal basin in northern part of the country.

The ministry said it supports the idea of using Gazprom's gasification technology to extract gas from the Red River coal basin as it is environmental friendly.

Details about the agreement weren't provided."

 

In earlier dispatches, we have documented the participation of Australia's Coal-to-Liquid and Gas conversion experts, Linc Energy, in Vietnam's coal conversion activities.

 

Russia, as we've documented, has coal conversion technology of their own.

 

Vietnam's coal reserves are generally described as "stranded", meaning they're relatively small and isolated, and can't be easily or economically mined using standard practices.  Based on other reports we've located, UCG - underground coal gasification - appears to be a viable alternative to extracting - actually mining - the coal for processing only when the coal deposits are too thin, too deep, or too limited in extent to make physical extraction a practical option.

 

But, the real point is what Vietnam intend doing with the coal gas. Other reports document that they plan to convert it, like the Chinese with the help of WVU and others are doing, into liquid fuels and chemicals, though detailed news out of Vietnam is sparse and difficult to track down.