Crude oil output 16 million tonnes may decline quickly
Ha Noi, Mar. 19 (VNA) -- Experts forecast that Viet Nam's yearly crude output is likely to reach 16 million tonnes between now and 2005, but will decline quickly unless new oil fields are found.
But discoveries of new major oil reserves such as Southern Vietnam's Bach Ho, the White Tiger, field are thought not much likely. Instead, any new reserves are likely to be small.
However, Viet Nam's low crude output can be partly offset by gas production because the country has large gas deposits at Bach Ho, Nam Con Son, Cuu Long and Malay-Tho Chu.
PetroVietnam will propose that the government take diverse measures to counter the dwindling supply, says Viet Nam's Oil and Gas Corporation, PetroVietnam, Director-General Nguyen Xuan Nham.
These include calling for more foreign investment in this sector; establishing oil-and-gas-development risk funds; allowing PetroVietnam to borrow for exploration, especially in northern Viet Nam's Red river delta; permitting it to participate in foreign oil exploration in such countries as Indonesia, Brunei, Mongolia, Libya and Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS, member countries.
Meanwhile, new methods, including directional drilling, are being sought to expand the exploration of the Bach Ho and Rong, Dragon, fields in a bid to increase their reserves, Viet Nam-Russia Oil and Gas Joint Venture Enterprise, Vietsovpetro, Director-General Nguyen Giao says.
He explains that Vietsovpetro has asked PetroVietnam for permission to plan trial drilling into the last stone layers of Dai Hung, Big Bear, oil field and modernize its tapping equipment as part of efforts to raise the oil recovery ratio to 40-50 percent. This would help save the natural resource and ensure higher crude output.
Vietsovpetro is seeking foreign loans so as to participate in oil and gas exploration of off-shore lots of lower risks, Giao says.
In the near future, Viet Nam's central compression platform is expected to absorb associated gas from Bach Ho field to supply the Dinh Co liquified petroleum gas, LPG, plant and help raise its daily capacity to 5.5 million cu.m. from five million cu.m.
Building of a pipeline to take gas from Lan Tay-Lan Do reserves ashore has started. The pipeline will have capacity of six million cu.m. a day.
In addition, the country is building a compression station for the Dinh Co plant, a condensate processing plant, the Phu My gas distributor and a Phu My-Thu Duc gas pipeline to supply comsumers in Bien Hoa town of Dong Nai province and Ho Chi Minh City.
PetroVietnam has decided to take part in projects to build electric power plants with a capacity of between 600-800 MW; a 800,000-tonne nitrogenous fertilizer plant and a 600,000-tonne Methanol factory.
Apart from its efforts to seek new oil and gas fields, PetroVietnam will develop technical services, while its oil service company, PTSC, is scheduled to expand services in shipping, port facilities and technical labour supply.
The company's vessels, with a combined capacity of 50,000 horse power, command more than 90 percent of the domestic market and have started penetrating into regional markets, including Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei and Australia.
The company is also developing new forms of services such as exploration platform supplies, project geological surveys, hydro geological studies, oil-spill recovery diving equipment and LPG transfer.
Vietsovpetro is also broadening its oil platform instalation, gas pipeline construction, platform repair services while the Mekong oil and gas company, a joint venture between PetroVietnam and eight Mekong river delta provinces, is building a 36,000-cu.m. petro and oil warehouse in Can Tho and sub-stations in other provinces.--VNA
