Decree 132/2024/ND-CP prescribing offshore investment in oil and gas activities

DECREE

Prescribing offshore investment in oil and gas activities

^____________

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Investment dated June 17, 2020;

Pursuant to the Law on the Management and Use of State Capital Invested in Production and Business at Enterprises dated November 26, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Enterprises dated June 17, 2020;

At the proposal of the Minister of Industry and Trade;

The Government hereby promulgates the Decree prescribing offshore investment in oil and gas activities.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

1. This Decree provides regulations on offshore investment in the forms specified at Points a, b, c and dd Clause 1 Article 52 of the Law on Investment in order to participate in carrying out oil and gas activities and implementing overseas oil and gas project (hereinafter referred to as offshore investment in oil and gas activities).

2. Offshore investment in the forms of contributing capital to, or purchasing shares or contributed capital amounts at, overseas economic organizations to carry out oil and gas activities in Vietnam shall comply with the Government’s Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP dated March 26, 2021, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Investment (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP).

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Decree applies to investors, and agencies and organizations and individuals related to offshore investment in oil and gas activities.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Oil and gas project means an investment project formed from one or several oil and gas contract(s), or license(s) for the purpose of carrying out offshore oil and gas activities.

2. License or document of equivalent validity means a document that the investment-receiving country (hereinafter referred to as the host country) grants to the investor or a legal entity established by the investor in accordance with law in order to carry out offshore oil and gas activities.

3. Offshore oil and gas activities include activities of oil and gas prospecting, oil and gas field development, oil and gas production, and decommissioning of oil and gas structures, and other related activities carried out in other countries in accordance with the law of the host countries, oil and gas contracts or licenses.

4. Oil and gas contract means a written agreement signed between the representative of an oil and gas resource owner and an investor or legal entity established by the investor in accordance with the host country to carry out offshore oil and gas activities.

5. Profit of an investor means the amount received by the investor after deducting all expenses, charges and taxes according to the oil and gas contracts and the law of the host country.

Article 4. Offshore investment capital in oil and gas activities

1. Sources of offshore investment capital in oil and gas activities include money and other lawful assets of the investors, including equity and loans in Vietnam that are transferred abroad, recovered expenses, profits and distributions from oil and overseas oil and gas projects retained for offshore investment.

2. Money and other lawful assets specified in Clause 1 of this Article include:

a) Foreign-currency amounts on accounts at licensed credit institutions or purchased from licensed credit institutions in accordance with law;

b) Vietnamese dong in conformity with Vietnam’s law on foreign exchange management;

c) Machinery, equipment, supplies, raw materials, fuels, and goods being semi-finished products and finished products;

d) Value of intellectual property rights, technologies, brands and rights toward assets;

dd) Shares, contributed capital and projects of the investors that are exchanged at Vietnam-based economic organizations and overseas economic organizations in accordance with Clause 4 of this Article;

e) Other lawful assets as prescribed by civil law.

3. Offshore investment capital is used to contribute capital, pay for shares, purchase capital contributions, fulfill arising guarantee obligations (if any) and other financial obligations of the investors in accordance with the laws of the host countries, oil and gas contracts, licenses and other relevant agreements to carry out offshore oil and gas activities and implement overseas oil and gas projects from the time of project formation to the time of project completion and fulfillment of all obligations as prescribed. Capital transferred abroad, when recovered and transferred back to the country, shall not be counted as capital transferred abroad.

4. Vietnamese investors may use their shares, contributed capital or investment projects in Vietnam to make payment or exchange for the purchase of shares, contributed capital or oil and gas projects from overseas economic organizations. In such cases, Vietnamese investors shall carry out procedures for granting offshore investment registration certificates first, then carry out procedures for investment in Vietnam in accordance with law.

Article 5. Offshore investment by foreign-invested economic organizations in Vietnam

Offshore investment by foreign-invested economic organizations in Vietnam shall comply with Article 70 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

Article 6. Documents identifying locations of oil and gas projects in foreign countries

1. Overseas oil and gas projects must have documents identifying their locations.

2. A document identifying the location of an overseas oil and gas project may be any of the following documents, which must have the contents identifying the location of the project:

a) License or document of equivalent validity of the host country;

b) Oil and gas contract or investment agreement with foreign partners or agreement on acquisition of participating interests or acquisition of part or the whole of the contributed capital of the economic organization performing offshore oil and gas activities;

c) Contract on land allocation or land lease, or decision on land allocation or land lease, issued by a competent agency or organization of the host country;

d) Bid-winning notice for participation in the overseas oil and gas project, or document of equivalent validity of the host country.

Article 7. Documents identifying the form of offshore investment; languages used in offshore investment dossiers in oil and gas activities; receipt of dossiers and settlement of procedures related to offshore investment activities in oil and gas activities; handling of forged dossiers

1. Documents identifying the form of offshore investment shall comply with Article 74 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

2. Languages used in offshore investment dossiers in oil and gas activities shall comply with Article 5 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

3. Receipt of dossiers and settlement of procedures related to offshore investment activities in oil and gas activities shall comply with Article 6 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

4. Handling of forged dossiers shall comply with Article 7 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

Chapter II

PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AND MODIFICATION OF OFFSHORE

INVESTMENT REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES

Article 8. Dossiers, order and procedures for grant of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects subject to approval of offshore investment policy

1. A dossier of application for an offshore investment registration certificate for oil and gas projects subject to approval of offshore investment policy must comprise the following documents:

a) Documents specified at Points a, b, c, d, dd and e Clause 1 Article 57 of the Law on Investment;

b) For documents specified at Point c Clause 1 Article 57 of the Law on Investment, the investor must fully assess risks in terms of technique, economy, and investment environment in the host country and other risks appropriate to the nature of the project or stages of the overseas oil and gas project;

c) For the document specified at Point dd Clause 1 Article 57 of the Law on Investment, if the investor submits a commitment to self-balancing foreign currency sources, it/he/she shall enclose the commitment with a credit institution’s written certification of its/his/her foreign-currency account balance;

d) A tax office’s document certifying the investor’s performance of tax payment obligations according to Clause 5 Article 60 of the Law on Investment;

dd) A document certifying the location of the overseas oil and gas project in accordance with Article 6 of this Decree;

e) A document identifying the form of offshore investment, for the case specified in Clause 1 Article 7 of this Decree;

g) A report on the provision of loans to the overseas economic organization tp carry out offshore oil and gas activities (if any), covering the following contents: name of the borrower; total loan amount; loan purpose and conditions; disbursement plan; debt recovery plan; security measures and plan on realization of collaterals (if any); plan on balancing foreign-currency sources serving loan provision; assessment of the borrower’s financial capacity; degree of risks and proposed measures to prevent risks with regard to the loan;

h) Documents determining the performance of arising guarantee obligations, in case the overseas oil and gas project states that the investor shall provide guarantee to the overseas economic organization for the latter to borrow loans to implement the project;

i) Other related documents.

2. Order and procedures for grant of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects subject to approval of offshore investment policy shall comply with Article 76 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

Article 9. Dossiers, order and procedures for modification of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects subject to approval of offshore investment policy

1. Dossiers for modification of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects subject to approval of offshore investment policy shall comply with Clause 1 Article 77 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP, and Point b Clause 1 Article 8 of this Decree.

2. Order and procedures for modification of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects subject to approval of offshore investment policy shall comply with Clauses 2 and 3 Article 77 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

Article 10. Dossiers, order and procedures for grant of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects not subject to approval of offshore investment policy

Dossiers, order and procedures for grant of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects not subject to approval of offshore investment policy shall comply with Article 78 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

Article 11. Dossiers, order and procedures for modification of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects not subject to approval of offshore investment policy

Dossiers, order and procedures for modification of offshore investment registration certificates for oil and gas projects not subject to approval of offshore investment policy shall comply with Article 79 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION OF OIL AND GAS PROJECTS

Article 12. Establishment of operating companies

1. To carry out activities of forming an overseas oil and gas project or implementing an overseas oil and gas project, an investor may establish or jointly establish an operating company in Vietnam, the host country or a third country, in accordance with the law of the host country and the oil and gas contract.

2. In case the investor decides to establish an operating company which will act on its behalf to participate in or implement an overseas oil and gas project, the name of the investor and the operating company shall be written in the offshore investment registration certificate. The operating company may use the offshore investment registration certificate for activities related to the implementation of the oil and gas project.

3. The investor may use an operating company to manage and operate one or more than one overseas oil and gas project in accordance with the law of the host country. Expenses for each oil and gas project must be allocated and accounted independently.

Article 13. Outbound transfer of investment capital

1. Investors may transfer investment capital abroad to carry out oil and gas activities in foreign countries according to Article 66 of the Law on Investment.

2. Investors may transfer abroad foreign currencies, goods, machinery and equipment before they are granted offshore investment registration certificates to cover expenses for activities to form their overseas oil and gas projects, including:

a) Conducting market and investment opportunity research;

b) Conducting field survey;

c) Conducting document study;

d) Collecting and purchasing documents and information relating to selection of projects;

dd) Conducting synthesis, evaluation and appraisal, including also selection and hiring of consultants to assess, evaluate and appraise the projects;

e) Holding scientific seminars and conferences;

g) Establishing and operating overseas liaison offices related to the formation of projects;

h) Conducting contract negotiation;

i) Purchasing or hiring assets and services to support the formation of projects;

k) Participating in international bidding, making deposits or collaterals or providing financial guarantee in other forms, and paying expenses and fees at the request of bid solicitors or host countries concerning conditions for participation in bidding or implementation of projects;

l) Participating in acquisition and merger activities, making deposits or collaterals or providing financial guarantee in other forms, paying expenses and fees at the request of company sellers or in accordance with the laws of host countries.

3. The limit of foreign currency transfer under Points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g, h and i Clause 2 of this Article must not exceed USD 500,000. The limit of foreign currency transfer under Points k and l Clause 2 of this Article must not exceed USD 2 million. In case the investor is a state enterprise, the implementation of a transaction with a value exceeding the limit specified in this Clause shall be decided by the Members’ Council or Board of Directors after obtaining opinions from the owner-representing agency within 15 days from the date of receiving the investor's written request for opinion, and notified to the State Bank of Vietnam for monitoring according to the competence. In case where the investor is not a state enterprise, the implementation of a transaction with a value exceeding the limit specified in this Clause shall be decided by the investor, and be notified to the State Bank of Vietnam for monitoring according to the competence.

4. The investor shall take responsibility before the law for the foreign currency amount transferred abroad to implement contents specified in Clause 2 of this Article, ensuring that it is used for the right purpose, on the basis of presenting all valid documents and certificates according to the licensed credit institution's regulations when transferring foreign currency abroad; and shall take responsibility before the law for the authenticity of the types of documents and certificates presented to the licensed credit institution.

5. The foreign currency amount transferred abroad for implementing contents specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be included in total offshore investment capital.

6. Transfer of foreign currency abroad before and after obtaining offshore investment registration certificates shall comply with the law on foreign exchange and this Decree.

Article 14. Principles of outbound transfer of foreign currencies before grant of offshore investment registration certificates

1. The foreign-currency amount transferred abroad before obtaining an offshore investment registration certificate shall be transferred via a pre-investment foreign-currency account at a licensed Vietnamese credit institution. All collection and spending transactions related to the outbound transfer of foreign currencies before grant of an offshore investment registration certificate shall be conducted via such account.

2. When effecting the outbound transfer of foreign currencies for an investor before obtaining an offshore investment registration certificate, the licensed credit institution shall request the investor to provide appropriate dossiers, documents and evidence for consideration, examination and storage so as to ensure that the investor’s transfer of foreign currencies abroad before obtaining an offshore investment registration certificate to pay for investment preparation activities complies with the Law on Investment and this Decree; and report to the State Bank of Vietnam on the investor’s foreign-currency transfer transactions conducted via the foreign-currency account opened at the licensed credit institution before obtaining an offshore investment registration certificate.

3. After the oil and gas project is granted an offshore investment registration certificate, the above pre-investment foreign-currency account shall be used as the investment capital account and registered with the State Bank of Vietnam in accordance with law.

Article 15. Dossiers, order and procedures for registration of foreign exchange transactions related to offshore investment in oil and gas activities after grant of offshore investment registration certificates

1. A dossier of registration of foreign exchange transactions must comprise:

a) A written registration for foreign exchange transactions, made according to the Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A certified copy or a copy enclosed with the original of the investment certificate or offshore investment certificate or offshore investment registration certificate. In case the investor submits a copy enclosed with the original for comparison, the comparing person shall certify the accuracy of the copy against the original;

c) A foreign-language copy and its Vietnamese translation (containing the investor’s certification of their accuracy) of the written approval or investment license granted by a competent agency of the host country or document approving the right to carry out investment activities in the host country in accordance with regulations of the host country;

d) A licensed credit institution’s written certification of the investor’s opening of an investment capital account, clearly stating the account number and type of foreign currency;

dd) A licensed credit institution’s written certification of the money amount the investor has transferred abroad before obtaining an offshore investment registration certificate, in case the investor has transferred capital abroad before obtaining an offshore investment registration certificate;

e) Written explanation about the need to transfer abroad investment capital in Vietnam dong, in case of transferring Vietnam-dong investment capital abroad.

2. Procedures for registering foreign exchange transactions with the State Bank of Vietnam

a) The investor shall submit 1 set of the dossier of registration of foreign exchange transactions (directly or send by post or send electronic dossier) as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article to the State Bank of Vietnam;

b) In case the dossier is incomplete, within 5 working days after receiving it, the State Bank of Vietnam shall request in writing the investor to supplement the dossier;

c) Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier, the State Bank of Vietnam shall certify or refuse to certify transaction registration. In case of refusal, it shall send a written reply clearly stating the reason to the investor.

Article 16. Registration and notification of change of foreign exchange transactions related to offshore investment in oil and gas activities after grant of modified offshore investment registration certificates

1. An investor shall register with the State Bank of Vietnam after obtaining a modified offshore investment registration certificate, or upon occurrence of changes in foreign exchange transactions against the contents of the written certification of foreign exchange transaction registration issued by the State Bank of Vietnam in the following cases:

a) Change of the Vietnamese investor implementing the overseas oil and gas project;

b) Change of the type of foreign currency of the investment capital account, change of the institution where the investment capital account is opened;

c) Change of investment capital in cash to be transferred abroad (except cases of using profits earned from offshore investment activities for continuing to contribute capital to make offshore investment, or recovered capital amounts for continuing to contribute capital to make offshore investment (in case they have not fully contributed capital as registered), or increasing offshore investment capital under Points a and b Clause 1 Article 67 of the Law on Investment and Clause 3 Article 18 of this Decree);

d) Change in the investor’s schedule of outbound transfer of investment capital in case the amount transferred in the period is larger than the amount to be transferred under the schedule certified by the State Bank of the Vietnam.

2. A dossier of registration upon changes in foreign exchange transactions must comprise:

a) A written registration, made according to the Form No. 02 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A written certification of the balance on the investor’s investment capital account, the money amount already transferred abroad and the amount transferred back to Vietnam by the time the change occurs, issued by the licensed credit institution where the investor opens its investment capital account;

c) A certified copy or a copy enclosed with the original of the modified offshore investment registration certificate. In case the investor submits a copy and presents the original for comparison, the comparing person shall certify the accuracy of the copy against the original.

3. Within 30 days after having its offshore investment registration certificate modified by the Ministry of Planning and Investor and before effecting the change prescribed at Points b, c and d Clause 1 of this Article, the investor shall carry out procedures for registering change of foreign exchange transactions with the State Bank of Vietnam as follows:

a) The investor shall submit 1 set of the dossier of registration of change of foreign exchange transactions (directly or send by post or send electronic dossier) as prescribed at Point a of this Clause to the State Bank of Vietnam;

b) In case the dossier is incomplete, within 5 working days after receiving it, the State Bank of Vietnam shall request in writing the investor to supplement the dossier;

c) Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier, the State Bank of Vietnam shall certify or refuse to certify registration of change of foreign exchange transactions. In case of refusal, it shall send a written reply clearly stating the reason to the investor.

4. For changes other than those specified in Clause 1 of this Article (including change of the name of the Vietnamese investor implementing the overseas oil and gas project, change of the offshore investment project's name, change of the overseas economic organization's name (if any), change of investment form, change of investment capital sources or form of investment capital, change of investment location (for investment projects required to have investment locations), change of main objectives of offshore investment activities, use of profits earned from offshore investment activities or recovered capital amount for continuing to contribute capital to make offshore investment (in case of fully contributing capital as registered), or increasing offshore investment capital under Points a and b Clause 1 Article 67 of the Law on Investment and Clause 3 Article 18 of this Decree, or change of account number, except for the cases specified at Point b Clause 1 of this Article), within 30 days from the date of occurrence of changes, the investor must make written notice to the State Bank of Vietnam and the licensed credit institution where the investor opened its/his/her investment capital account, enclose with a copy of the modified offshore investment registration certificate (if any), or document proving the updates on the National Information System on Investment upon occurrence of changes specified in Clause 2 Article 63 of the Law on Investment.

Article 17. Raising capital for overseas oil and gas projects and provision of loan guarantee for project implementation

1. Vietnamese investors may authorize execution companies to raise capital from financial and credit institutions (at home or abroad) for overseas oil and gas project implementation corresponding to their contribution rates to the projects in accordance with relevant laws.

2. For overseas oil and gas projects for which execution companies are established and in case projects’ assets need to be pledged or mortgaged as collateral for loans as required by financial or credit institutions, investors may carry out legal procedures for the execution companies to borrow such loans.

3. In case financial and credit institutions require investors’ guarantee, Vietnamese investors shall provide guarantee corresponding to their contribution rates to the projects in accordance with relevant laws.

Article 18. Recovered capital (expense) amounts of overseas oil and gas projects

1. The investor shall transfer the capital (expense) amounts recovered from overseas oil and gas project back to Vietnam within 6 months from the date the tax finalization statement or a paper of equivalent legal validity as prescribed by the law of the host country is issued, except for the cases specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

2. If failing to transfer the capital (expense) amounts of overseas oil and gas projects back to Vietnam within the time limit specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the investor shall send a prior notice in writing to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the owner-representing agency for monitoring and management according to the assigned functions and tasks. Duration for inbound transfer of Recovered capital (expense) amounts must not exceed 12 months, from the last day of the time limit specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. In case where the total offshore investment capital is insufficient compared to the registered capital, or in case the offshore investment capital is increased, the investor may retain Recovered capital (expense) amounts to make investment in such project, if it is stated in the offshore investment certificate, or modified offshore investment certificate, or offshore investment registration certificate, or modified offshore investment registration certificate.

Article 19. Transfer of overseas oil and gas projects

1. Investors may transfer part or the whole of overseas oil and gas projects in conformity with oil and gas contracts, relevant agreements and licenses, laws of the host countries and concerned countries, and this Decree.  The authority competent to decide on investment in an overseas oil and gas project is the authority competent to decide on the transfer of such project.

2. In case of transferring the whole of an overseas oil and gas project for a domestic investor, the investor shall carry out procedures for modifying the offshore investment registration certificate in accordance with Article 63 of the Law on Investment. In case of transferring the whole of an overseas oil and gas project for a foreign investor, the investor shall carry out procedures for invalidation of the offshore investment registration certificate in accordance with Article 64 of the Law on Investment.

3. In case the transfer of an overseas oil and gas project generates a profit, the investor shall fulfill its/his/her financial obligations in Vietnam in accordance with the tax law, relevant laws and agreements between Vietnam and countries or territories for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

Article 20. Handling of expenses of unsuccessful overseas oil and gas projects

Expenses of unsuccessful overseas oil and gas projects shall be handled in accordance with laws and regulations on financial management of enterprises.

Article 21. Accounting

1. Investors may apply to their overseas oil and gas projects an accounting system which conforms to provisions of the oil and gas contracts, licenses and regulations of the host countries.

2. The accounting and monitoring of investment costs in the investors’ account books must comply with Vietnam’s accounting law.

Article 22. Financial obligations in Vietnam

1. Investors shall fulfill their financial obligations related to offshore oil and gas activities and overseas oil and gas projects towards the State of Vietnam in accordance with the tax law, relevant laws and agreements between Vietnam and countries or territories for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

2. For overseas oil and gas projects, oil and gas contracts under which investors’ (shared) revenues are not separated into recovered capital amounts and incomes, investors shall additionally register with the Ministry of Finance a mechanism for identifying their revenues so as to serve the state management and fulfillment of obligations in Vietnam (if any).

3. Import and export duty exemption for the capital in the forms of goods, machinery and equipment transferred abroad for implementation of investment activities and transfer to Vietnam must comply with the law on import duty and export duty.

Article 23. Sending Vietnamese workers abroad to work for overseas oil and gas projects and stabilization of policies toward workers engaged in overseas oil and gas projects

1. Investors may only send Vietnamese workers abroad to work for overseas oil and gas projects after obtaining offshore investment registration certificates and meeting requirements of the labor laws of Vietnam and host countries.

2. Investors shall fully implement regulations on sending Vietnamese workers abroad to work for overseas oil and gas projects in accordance with the Law on Vietnamese Guest Workers and other relevant laws.

3. For workers who are assigned by an investor to work permanently at an overseas oil and gas project-implementing organization under an agreement between the investor and its partner and whose salaries, bonuses, allowances and insurance premiums are accounted into the project’s taxable expenses before such amounts are transferred to the investor for payment to workers, the workers shall enjoy salaries, bonuses and allowances under their labor contracts and agreements with the investor (employer). The investor may apply a foreign-currency salary table to these workers, which also serves as a basis for paying social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance and other compulsory social contributions in accordance with Vietnam’s law.

4. For workers who are assigned by an investor to work permanently at an overseas oil and gas project-implementing organization under an agreement between the investor and its partner and whose allowances and compulsory unemployment insurance under Vietnamese law are not accounted into the project’s taxable expenses, the investor shall deduct from its production and business costs and the workers shall set aside an amount from their personal incomes to pay social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance and other compulsory social contribution in accordance with Vietnamese law.

5. Social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance and other compulsory social contributions prescribed by Vietnamese law for workers assigned by investors to work permanently at overseas oil and gas project-executing organizations are similar to those applied to holders of equivalent positions in Vietnam.

Article 24. Implementation of reporting regimes on offshore investment in oil and gas activities

Reporting regimes on offshore investment dossiers in oil and gas activities shall comply with Article 83 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

Article 25. Termination of offshore investment in oil and gas activities; dossiers, order and procedures for invalidation of offshore investment registration certificates

1. Termination of offshore investment in oil and gas activities shall comply with Article 86 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

2. Dossiers, order and procedures for invalidation of offshore investment registration certificates shall comply with Article 87 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

3. Investors may transfer money abroad to perform financial obligations towards the host countries and partners in accordance with terms of oil and gas contracts, licenses or other relevant agreements and legal documents on the basis of producing papers and documents according to the licensed credit institutions’ regulations when making outbound transfer of foreign currencies. Investors shall take responsibility before the law for the authenticity of types of papers and documents presented to the licensed credit institutions.

Chapter IV 
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 26. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect from December 12, 2024, and replaces the Government's Decree No. 124/2017/ND-CP dated November 15, 2017, prescribing offshore investment in petroleum activities.

2. In case any legal documents referred to in this Decree are amended, supplemented or replaced, the new ones shall prevail.

Article 27. Responsibility for implementation

1. State management of offshore investment activities

a) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and overseas Vietnamese representative agencies shall perform the functions of state management of offshore investment in oil and gas activities in accordance with the Law on Investment and Article 99 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP.

b) In addition to tasks specified at Point a Clause 1 of this Article, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall give opinions on matters under the assigned fields upon request of the Prime Minister or the Ministry of Planning and Investment;

c) Owner-representing agencies shall manage, inspect and supervise the use of state capital used for offshore investment by state enterprises as prescribed by law; formulate internal regulations on appraisal and approval of policies and decisions on offshore investment for state enterprises’ oil and gas projects, and perform tasks specified in Clauses 2 and 3 Article 71 of Decree No. 31/2021/ND-CP, for state enterprises’ overseas oil and gas projects.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decree.

Article 28. Transitional provisions

From the effective date of this Decree, received valid dossiers of which the time limit for processing is past but their results have not yet been returned shall continue to comply with the Law on Investment No. 61/2020/QH14.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.