Vietnam wants to finalise Chevron gas deal in Sept

HANOI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Vietnamese government has asked Petrovietnam to complete negotiations with Chevron Corp (CVX.N) before the end of this month to buy natural gas from the U.S. oil major's two offshore blocks.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, in a directive seen on Thursday, urged the state oil monopoly to speed talks to buy the gas from Chevron's block B and block 52/97.

The blocks, off the southwest coast of Vietnam, hold potential reserves of up to 4 trillion cubic feet, or 16 percent of the country's total, but remain untapped due to a lack of infrastructure.

Petrovietnam and dominant utility Vietnam Electricity group plan gas-fired power plants in the O Mon area of the Mekong delta city of Can Tho using gas from the two blocks.

The cost to develop the gas blocks is estimated at about $750 million and another $350 million is needed to build a 380-kilometre pipeline, Vietnamese officials have said.

Chevron has also expressed interest in investing in power plants in the area to use its offshore gas, a move that would break its usual reluctance to invest outside of its core business.

Hanoi has been stepping up efforts to utilise its vast offshore gas reserves to meet soaring energy demand, with targets to double gas-fired power generation capacity to 7,000 megawatts by 2020.