Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nhu, former Deputy Director of the Oil and Gas Department, Government Office , recounted the exploratory drilling process.
Producing… firecrackers to support the profession
On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Vietnam Oil and Gas industry fulfilling Uncle Ho's wish, we met Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nhu, former Deputy Director of the Oil and Gas Department, Government Office. The former officer of Oil and Gas Company I (under the General Department of Oil and Gas, based in Thai Binh City) recounted memories that not many people know about a time when he and his officers, employees, and workers worked hard to keep the passion for the profession and also to fulfill the determination to build the industry.
In September 1971, the newly graduated engineer from the University of Mining and Geology worked at Oil and Gas Company I, and was assigned as chief geologist of geological wells and surveys.
Some time later, Mr. Nhu was assigned to the technical department of the 36K group (shallow drilling) stationed in Thai Binh town. Here, he monitored and directed a number of shallow wells, then became the chief geologist of well 35 in Xuan Thuy commune (Giao Thuy, Nam Dinh ). Next, he was assigned to the Technical Department, monitoring wells 2,400m and 3,900m deep...
During the period 1983-1991, Mr. Nhu worked at the experimental research workshop of Oil and Gas Company I. Under his command were nearly 100 purely technical staff.
“At that time, the salary and allowances from the State were very low, the factory leaders really wanted to create more jobs and income for the brothers. Because no matter what, they kept encouraging the brothers and sisters to be determined to keep their jobs, but it was very difficult to be hungry…” – Mr. Nhu recalled.
Necessity is the mother of invention. After a period of thinking, Mr. Nhu discovered a job that could utilize the “brainpower” of his geological engineers, and was also a very “hot” commodity at that time. That was participating in the production process of… firecrackers, specifically making gunpowder.
Through his connections, he knew that the Binh Da fireworks village (Thanh Oai, old Ha Tay) needed a large amount of fireworks powder every year for production. According to the principle, if it was possible to electrolyze compounds from potassium, it would be possible to produce "high-quality" fireworks powder. So he asked some of the best chemistry guys in the workshop to "get together" to try it. After a few failures at first, Mr. Nhu encouraged his brothers to continue researching and testing, and then they produced a very good material. So much so that whenever the villagers of Binh Da saw fireworks powder from "Dau Khi", they would exclaim and compete to buy it.
With a calculating mind not inferior to a CEO, Mr. Nhu did not sell drugs for cash but traded goods by… bartering goods. To get the most profit, he chose the time to exchange at the beginning of the year instead of the end of the year. Because in December, 1 kilo of firecrackers (made from potassium fertilizer) can only be exchanged for 1 finished firecracker cake, but in January or February, it can be exchanged for 2 cakes, so that by the end of the year the quality is still very good.
Memorial area of the first oil and gas project in Vietnam
In addition, the profits of the gunpowder factory continued to increase when Mr. Nhu exchanged potash fertilizer. The thing is, at that time, there were two types of fertilizer on the market, white potash and red potash, with similar prices, but farmers really liked red potash, willing to exchange two bags of white for one bag of red.
Mr. Nhu immediately "speculated" on red potash fertilizer to exchange with the cooperative for white potash. So instead of 1kg of electrolyzed red potash to produce 1.4kg of gunpowder, when exchanged for white potash, the factory received nearly 3kg of finished product.
After exchanging gunpowder for tens of thousands of firecrackers, Mr. Nhu divided them into many storage locations to avoid explosions. During Tet, all the company's employees were mobilized to sell firecrackers.
With this side job, in just a few years, Mr. Nhu's factory has made a significant amount of money, creating increased income for the team of engineers, staff and a welfare fund for vacations...
Moreover, because of the extra income for their families, the workers in the factory still feel secure in keeping their jobs. After that, the company also opened a foreign language class and sent many staff to participate...
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Engineer Ngo Van Kha at the Memorial Site of the First Oil and Gas Project in Vietnam - where he has been working in the Oil and Gas industry for more than 40 years. |
Mechanical engineer and cow herder
Engineer Ngo Van Kha (former Director of Thai Binh Oil and Gas Company) was one of the “red seeds” of the industry, sent by the State to study at the Petroleum University in the “oil capital” of Baku (Azerbaijan). After 5 years of study, he returned to the country and was assigned to work at the Gas Exploitation Enterprise (under Oil and Gas Company I). Here, engineer Kha was assigned to work in the Operation and Exploitation Department.
It can be said that the first days of putting Tien Hai “C” gas field into operation were extremely difficult because this was a completely new job for the engineers and operators of the gas field. The exploitation and service equipment were all old and outdated, taken advantage of the process of searching and exploring for oil and gas in the Northern Delta. The central gas processing station was also designed and installed by Vietnamese engineers.
At that time, Tien Hai gas field only supplied gas turbines for electricity generation. This turbine had been used in the South for a while so it occasionally broke down.
The facilities at that time were also very poor. The whole company had only one row of 10 level 4 houses, each room was more than ten square meters wide. The monthly salary was about 300 dong, half a kilo of pork and 21 kilos of rice. Many people had old parents and young children, so the brothers had to think of every way to keep the job, but also not let the family go hungry.
So the brothers encouraged each other to increase production by raising cows and pigs. Starting with a cow raised from a young age to adulthood, then giving birth..., gradually having a whole herd. The profits earned improved the brothers' lives so that they could continue to pursue their profession with peace of mind. Later, they used some of the excess gas to burn lime... Much later, the Tien Hai Industrial Park (IP) gradually took shape, many companies producing ceramics, bricks... gathered, and the brothers' lives improved.
According to Mr. Kha, the total reserves of Tien Hai C gas field are 1.3 billion m3 , of which more than 700 million m3 have been exploited, equivalent to 300 million USD. And since the oil and gas projects in Thai Binh, the first benefit for the locality is transportation. Having roads is like having economic blood vessels, a lively and cheerful atmosphere, people hope for something new.
When gas was discovered, a series of enterprises were established. The gas mine was considered the “main engine” of the industrial park. At that time, the added value in Tien Hai Industrial Park was the highest in Thai Binh province. When there was gas, all types of industry developed strongly, even for enterprises that did not need gas and attracted many workers to Dong Co - Tien Hai Industrial Park.
Yen Chi
Source: https://www.pvn.vn/chuyen-muc/tap-doan/tin/28908d52-8e33-4ca5-86f0-913c31f8dc1d
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