PV Drilling V: Highlight of Vietnam’s petroleum industry

Engineers and drilling workers are on duty (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) - The success of Bien Dong project No.01 of the Bien Dong Petroleum Operating Company (Bien Dong POC) in the East Sea has affirmed the internal strength of the petroleum industry, contributing to ensuring national energy security.

The project used the Semi-submersible Tender Assist Drilling Rig (TAD) - PV Drilling V, which was built by the PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Service Corporation (PV Drilling) under Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

The PV Drilling V is the first oil rig in the world applying high technologies to drill high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) wells. It was completed in 2011 and started serving the Bien Dong project No.01 at the Hai Thach – Moc Tinh field in early 2012 with a total of 16 wells in deep-water in extremely complicated and difficultly geological conditions.

It is the 8th semi-submersible tender assist drilling rig (TAD) in the world which is the latest generation of its kind with state-of-the-art technology and could be considered as the most modern Tender Assist Drilling Rig with the SSDT 3600E HP design.

The Bien Dong project No.01 was said to be a miracle of the petroleum industry in the East Sea.

A representative from the PetroVietnam said the firm had to spend great efforts and much money on the project.  

He also mentioned difficulties facing the firm in implementing the project, specifying that the Hai Thach – Moc Tinh field is in a 140m deep-water area with the most complicated geological conditions in Vietnam and the world as well, and the temperature and pressure in the area’s wells are very high, at about 120 - 170 degrees Celsius, and between 420 - 530 atm, respectively.

Very few oil companies dared to exploit gas in fields with high pressure and temperature like that because of the high level of danger and risk.

For the Hai Thach - Moc Tinh field, drilling is the decisive factor to the success or failure of the project. PetroVietnam in general, and Bien Dong POC – the project’s investor and PV Drilling– the drilling contractor of the project in particular, had to face many difficulties in implementing the project.   

Working at the PV Drilling V oil rig (Photo: VietnamPlus)

In 2009, no drilling rig in Vietnam could meet the drilling work in the Hai Thach - Moc Tinh field. PV Drilling proposed two options of either renting a foreign drilling rig or building a new one.

At that time, there were a total of seven TAD oil rigs similar to the current PV Drilling V around the world, but no one could meet the high temperature and high pressure conditions in the Hai Thach - Moc Tinh field.

After carefully considering options, those who were responsible for the project decided to build a new TAD rig. This was the best solution as it saved half of the cost of renting a foreign oil rig or renovating an existing one.

Additionally, the building of a new TAD rig aimed to serve not only the Bien Dong project No.01, but also other plans afterwards.

The PV Drilling V is the most modern generation of TAD rigs in the world using many new equipment and technologies. For this reason, the operation of the rig became a special challenge for PV Drilling's experts and engineers.

Therefore, besides Vietnamese engineers, PV Drilling and Bien Dong POC were required to hire many foreign experts to support the rig’s operation in the initial time.

Attention was also paid to training Vietnamese engineers to serve the project./.