Su Tu Den field development off Vietnam approved

Vietnam has approved a $714 million offshore production project sponsored by the five-company consortium Cuu Long Joint Operating Co. to develop Su Tu Den oil field on Block 15-1.

Oct. 15, 2007

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 -- Vietnam has approved a $714 million offshore production project sponsored by the five-company consortium Cuu Long Joint Operating Co. to develop Su Tu Den oil field on Block 15-1.

Consortium partners are PetroVietnam 50%, ConocoPhillips 23.25%, Korean National Oil Corp. 14.25%, SK Corp. 9%, and Geopetrol 3.5%.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai backed the exploration plan for the northeastern portion of Su Tu Den field, where oil production from 12 wells is expected to start by December 2009.

ConocoPhillips confirmed the approval to move forward with the project, saying the field could produce as much as 40,000 b/d of oil. A spokeswoman, however, declined to comment on the allocation of development costs.

The Su Tu Den announcement coincided with Hoang's request for PetroVietnam to speed up the tempo of its development projects. Overall, oil production in Vietnam is behind its targeted 360,000 b/d goal for 2007, which Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung set in January.

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].