It is the first successful project abroad of PVEP and the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group, which started in 2003 with an international bidding through a surveying process to 2008. — Photo pvf.com.vn

It marked a politically and economically important event amid the global struggling oil industry with its prices plunging.

Bir Seba oil exploration and exploitation was implemented through a joint venture between PVEP, Algeria's state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Company with a respective stake of 40 per cent, 25 per cent and 35 per cent.

It is the first successful project abroad of PVEP and the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group, which started in 2003 with an international bidding through a surveying process to 2008.

Bir Seba joint-venture, founded in 2009, had a total capital off USS$1.26 billion and is under the operation of Groupelment Bir Seba.

Hoang Ngoc Dong, Director of the PVEP-Algeria said that the project was under its first phase with 16 wells drilled to date, tapping nearly 20,000 barrels per day and one million barrels in total as of November 4.

In its second phase, the total output was expected to reach 40,000 barrels per day in early 2020.

Dong said that Bir Seba project confirmed the position of Viet Nam in oil exploitation abroad and now Viet Nam's oil and gas sector had extended its reaches to many countries worldwide such as Venezuela, Russia and Algeria.

The North African country is one of the top three oil producers in the region with a total production of roughly 5.7 billion tonnes (38 billion barrels), a daily output of 180,000 tonnes (1.2 million barrels), ranking 12th in terms of output and ninth in exports.

Having 4.500 billion cubic metres in reserve, which is capable of producing 60 billion cubic metres per year, Algeria is also the leading natural gas producer in Africa, the second biggest gas supplier to Europe and the fourth largest in the world. — VNS