S. Korean oil firm finds additional oil, gas in Vietnam

South Korea’s state-run oil company has discovered additional oil and gas deposits in Vietnam, the government said Wednesday.

South Korea’s state-run oil company has discovered additional oil and gas deposits in Vietnam, the government said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) found a 29-million-barrel crude deposit in the offshore 15-1 “Brown Lion” field during explorations carried out from March to June.

It also discovered 120 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the 11-2 “White Lion” field in May. The oil field lies 141 kilometers southeast of the coastal city of Vung Tan off Vietnam’s southern coast, while the gas field is located 320km from Vietnam’s shores.

The KNOC and SK Corp., South Korea’s top oil refiner, hold a combined 23.25% stake in the field with Vietnamese, U.S. and French companies holding the rest. Local companies have development rights extending up to 2023.

The Brown Lion field has a confirmed reserve of 560 million barrels of crude with daily production currently standing at 90,000 barrels.

The ministry added that in the 11-2 block, the KNOC-led South Korean consortium holds a 75% stake, with the remainder owned by PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corporation. This field is estimated to hold a total of 856.0 billion cubic feet of gas and 22.8 million barrels of crude. The KNOC contract gives it the right to extract gas up till 2030.

The latest discovery is expected to increase the amount of crude oil and natural gas that is controlled by KNOC by 19.6 million barrels and 90.0 billion cubic feet, respectively.

Tags: Brown Lion field, KNOC, Korea National Oil Corp