PRODUCTION VESSEL DESTINED FOR OIL FIELD OFF VIET NAM

The semisubmersible production vessel destined for development of Dai Hung field off Viet Nam has left the U.K. on a tow to a Southeast Asian shipyard for refitting. Deepsea Pioneer will be used by Dai Hung operator BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. to begin production of as much as 25,000 b/d of oil starting in October. BHP has not decided which yard will perform refurbishment, but it has received a number of tenders. The vessel is due in Southeast Asia in late March and is currently off West Africa.

Feb. 21, 1994

2 min read

The semisubmersible production vessel destined for development of Dai Hung field off Viet Nam has left the U.K. on a tow to a Southeast Asian shipyard for refitting.

Deepsea Pioneer will be used by Dai Hung operator BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. to begin production of as much as 25,000 b/d of oil starting in October.

BHP has not decided which yard will perform refurbishment, but it has received a number of tenders. The vessel is due in Southeast Asia in late March and is currently off West Africa.

The vessel was previously used by BHP subsidiary Hamilton Oil Co. Ltd., London, for development of the North Sea's Argyll, Duncan, and Innes fields. Pioneer's production capacity is 45,000 b/d.

The three North Sea fields were abandoned in 1993. Pioneer has since been stacked in the U.K. (OGJ, Feb. 1, 1993, p. 23).

BHP recently disclosed test results of the second and third Dai Hung appraisal wells (OGJ, Feb. 14, p. 45). The Aleutian Key and Treasure Seeker rigs are drilling two more appraisal wells, Dai Hung 2P and Dai Hung 6X.

A BHP spokesman said once these two wells are drilled, one of the rigs will remain in the field to begin subsea development work. Initially, two wells will be completed as subsea tiebacks to the Pioneer. These will be the recently tested 1P well and the current 2P well.

The appraisal program has led BHP to estimate Dai Hung reserves at 100500 million bbl of oil. A previous estimate by Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd., Edinburgh, placed reserves at 400 million bbl (OGJ, Nov 8, 1993, p. 101).