HANOI- Eni Vietnam B.V., a unit of Italian energy group Eni, and India's Essar Exploration & Production Ltd, will start drilling at the Dan Tranh-1X well in Vietnam's offshore oil block 114 from late this month, state oil firm PetroVietnam said on Tuesday.

PetroVietnam will invite Essar to bid for Vietnam's other offshore blocks late this year or early next year, the company said in a statement, following a meeting in Hanoi between executives of the two companies.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Martin Petty)