Arrow Energy to explore for coal near Hanoi

HANOI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Australian oil firm Arrow Energy Ltd (AOE.AX) said on Friday it has signed a production sharing contract with state oil Petrovietnam for a coal exploration project near Hanoi.

Arrow plans to invest $1.5 million in the project, which is called Hanoi Trough (MVHN-01KT), over the next 12 months to drill eight wells on the block near Thai Binh province, about 100 km (62 miles) from the capital Hanoi.

Arrow said in a statement it believed the project to be a technically and commercially attractive proposition.

There are multiple coal seams with combined thickness of more than 20 metres which occur at depths between 450 metres and 800 metres over anticlinal structures within the project, the firm said. (Reporting by Nguyen Nhat Lam; Editing by Ben Tan)