Vietnam approves US Murphy Oil to run development plan at Lac Da Vang field

Murphy Oil Corporation, headquartered in Texas, the U.S., has received approval from the Vietnamese government to advance a field development plan at the Lac Da Vang oilfield in the southern region.

The U.S. oil business made the statement in its “Investor Update” report for September and its second quarter review. A field development plan is the step prior to the final project being sanctioned, which is expected later this year, Murphy Oil clarified.

Lac Da Vang (LDV) is located in Block 15-1/05 of the Cuu Long Basin in the Southeast continental shell of Vietnam. Murphy Oil estimates LDV’s resources are 80-100 million barrels of oil equivalent gross, and that output could reach 30,000-40,000 barrels a day net with Murphy, said Roger Jenkins, CEO, president and director of the firm.

Murphy Oil is looking to start pumping from LDV in 2025, and is planning future exploration within the block, the executive added.

Murphy Oil recorded exploratory well costs of $184.9 million in the year ending June 30, 2023. Of which, $112.4 million was in Vietnam, $65 million in the U.S., $4.8 million in Canada, and $2.7 million in Brunei, according to the firm’s Q2 review.

Murphy Oil holds a 40% working interest as the operator of Block 15-1/05, while the two other shareholders are Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), the exploration arm of Vietnam’s state-owned Petrovietnam, with 35%; and SK Earthon, under South Korea’s chaebol SK, with 25%.

In March, SK Earthon said it expects to start crude oil production at Block 15-1/05 in the Cuu Long basin in 2025.