Vietsovpetro, a joint Vietnamese-Russian oil and gas enterprise on May 7 began operating the Tho Trang 03 oil rig (White Rabbit) at well 37P offshore of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, 13 days ahead of schedule.

The oil rig, designed to accommodate 12 wells, is expected to yield 3,000 tonnes of oil and 1.5 million cu.m of gas per day.

Located in a 47m-deep water area in lot 09-1, the construction and installation of the rig began in June 2016.

To ensure exploitation of 5 million tonnes of oil in 2017 and maintain stable production in the future, Vietsovpetro has worked hard to increase reserves.

Vietsovpetro is striving to pump more than 24.4 million tonnes of crude oil by 2020.

Revenue from oil is forecast to stand at US$11.6 billion by 2020. However, Vietsovpetro is asking for the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group’s support to assure sufficient funds for production, due to financial imbalances spurred by a steep fall in oil prices. — VNS