Vietnam

Nam Con Son Basin

Vietnam has been an important part of Santos’ Asian growth strategy since 2006, when the company entered the offshore Block 12W in the Nam Con Son Basin.

In October 2011, Santos’ first Vietnam oil project, Chim Sáo was delivered on schedule and under the sanctioned budget. Santos has a 31.9% interest in Chim Sáo, which is situated in Block 12W and was sanctioned in 2009. Oil is currently produced from six wells, with the gross production rate expected to plateau at about 25,000 barrels of oil per day. Gas is also produced at a gross plateau production rate of 25 million cubic feet per day. This gas is sent to the existing gas infrastructure via a subsea pipeline, and will be used for domestic power generation.

Also in Block 12W, the Dua field development was sanctioned in June 2012 by Santos and its partners and approved by the Government of Vietnam in August 2012.

Santos further expanded its Vietnam acreage in December 2011, when it signed a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Petrovietnam for Block 13/03, located in the Nam Con Son Basin. Under this PSC, Santos will operate the block and hold a 65% participating interest. PVEP holds the remaining 35% working interest. 

Phu Khanh Basin

Santos has a 50% equity interest in Block 123 in the Phu Khanh Basin, offshore Vietnam, and drilled its first exploration well in 2011, which was a non-commercial gas discovery. Santos and its partners – SK Energy (20%) and PVEP (30%) – recently completed the acquisition of a 564 square-kilometre 3D seismic survey to evaluate the remaining prospects in Block 123 with drilling scheduled for 2014.

The Phu Khanh Basin is relatively unexplored with the first well in the Basin drilled in 2009 by Plains Petroleum in Block 124 (immediately south of Block 123) finding a sub-commercial oil accumulation and proving the presence of a working petroleum system.