Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), a subsidiary of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam), has raked in revenue of more than US$1.2 billion over the course of five years from what have been dubbed Blocks 01 and 02.

The blocks in the Cuu Long basin are located off the continental shelf of Viet Nam about 150km to the southeast of Vung Tau, a port city and the capital of the southern province of Ba Ria –Vung Tau. The four oil fields currently under exploitation have been named Ruby, Pearl, Topaz and Diamond. Meanwhile, two other oil fields, Jade and Emerald, and a number of potential sites are being explored.

According to PVEP, the oil and gas contract at Blocks 01 and 02 between PetroVietnam and the contractor Petronas Carigali Vietnam Limited – the operator – officially ended on September 9, 2017. Petrovietnam and PVEP then signed a temporary lease to operate oil and gas exploitation in the blocks, with PVEP taking charge of their operations from September 10 the same year.

The blocks’ average annual oil production now exceeds the target by between 3 per cent and 10 per cent. On May 23, 2022, the total production of Blocks 01 and 02 reached 130 million barrels, making PVEP one of the four contractors in Viet Nam to achieve the figure. — VNS