Soco Starts Drilling in Vietnamese Offshore Oil, Gas Field

London listed Soco said November 7 that 2016 development drilling programme on the Te Giac Trang field of Block 16-1, offshore southern Vietnam, has begun. Block 16-1 is operated by the Hoang Long Joint Operating Company. Soco holds a 30.5% interest.

First of the two infill wells, the TGT-27P and TGT-28P, was spudded on November 7. The TGT partners are reviewing adding a further two infill wells following the completion of these wells, Soco said.

Soco has said production rates for the full year are expected to be at the lower end of guidance because of the lack of drilling during the year, additional downtime associated with pressure-testing on the Ca Ngu Vang field, along with the recent stoppage for rig positioning and well intervention work beyond that originally planned, production rates for the full year are expected to be at the lower end of this guidance. Soco's production guidance range for 2016 has been 10-11,500 barrels of oil equivalent/day.

Full development plan discussions are in the final stages ahead of formal submission to the relevant authorities. The final plan includes additional wells and facilities options to increase total fluid-handling capacity. The TGT field was first discovered in 2005 and was the first commercial discovery on Block 16-1.  Production began in 2011. More than 30 wells have been drilled and the field is producing from three platforms, which have a total of 26 producing wells and one injector well.

Gas from TGT is processed at nearby facilities and transported by pipeline to shore to supply the Vietnamese domestic market.

Shardul Sharma