The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corp. (PVEP) on June 25 signed a production sharing contract for Block 05.1(a) of the Dai Hung (Big Bear) oilfield, 265km offshore southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

This was the first oil and gas contract in Vietnam funded and managed by PVEP through its affiliate, the Dai Hung One-member Co., Ltd.

The contract affirms PVEP’s capacity in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, especially in deep-water areas, helping ensure national energy security.

The Dai Hung oilfield was discovered by US-based Mobil Oil & Gas Co. in 1974. Vietsovpetro started production at the field in 1986 before PetroVietnam signed a production sharing contract with an international joint venture contractor monitored by Australian mining corporation BHPP in 1993.

Since PVEP was appointed to manage oil production at the Dai Hung oilfield in 2003, the total oil volume exploited from the field has reached 700,000 tonnes.

In 2007, the Prime Minister approved the second phase of the Dai Hung oilfield development plan with an estimated investment of 731 million USD. The plan set a target of exploiting northern oil-wells in late 2008 and southern oil-wells in 2011 with an output of 18,000 barrels per day./.