Dai Hung Mine: From a $1 transfer project to the Vietnamese people's ability to master the deep sea

Mr. Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs , spoke at the ceremony - Photo: HONG PHUC

On the evening of May 16, the Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP) held a ceremony to welcome the first oil flow of the Dai Hung phase 3 field development project, lot 05-1a.

Attending the event, Mr. Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs , highly appreciated the first commercial oil flow from the project being put into operation 20 days ahead of schedule.

This is a particularly meaningful achievement in the context of the country's efforts to develop the economy , ensure energy security and promote the energy transition towards sustainable development.

Mine revenue reaches over 4 billion USD

Dai Hung Project Phase 3 in Lot 05-1(a), about 256km off the coast of Vung Tau, has just received its first oil flow with a flow of 6,000 barrels/day, 20 days ahead of schedule.

This is not only an achievement in technical progress, but also an important milestone affirming the Vietnamese people's ability to be self-sufficient in EPCI (engineering - procurement - construction - installation) technology in the oil and gas industry.

This project is being implemented in the context of volatile international markets, supply chain crises, escalating raw material prices, while complex geological and hydrological conditions of deep water areas require particularly high technical requirements.

However, this offshore deep water mine with a depth of more than 110m has been researched and exploited with all Vietnamese staff, engineers and experts.

In which, Dai Hung Petroleum Company, the predecessor of the Domestic Petroleum Operation Branch (PVEP-POC) is the operating unit. The project's achievements come from the joint efforts of Vietsovpetro Joint Venture, Vietnam Petroleum Technical Services Corporation (PTSC), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PV Drilling),...

With a total investment of more than 400 million USD, Dai Hung phased 3 blocks 05-1(a) including many large-scale technical items: WHP-DH01 wellhead platform located at a depth of more than 110m, 5.2km long flexible pipeline, connected to the existing FPU central processing platform,...

Notably, the entire design, fabrication, construction and installation process was carried out by a team of Vietnamese engineers and workers. This is a rare occurrence in previous deepwater projects.

After 30 years of exploitation, by April 2025, Dai Hung field reached the milestone of exploiting 75 million barrels of oil; of which, if calculated from 2003 when PVEP-POC directly operated, it has exploited 45 million barrels of oil.

By the end of 2024, revenue from Dai Hung mine will reach over 4 billion USD, contributing over 600 million USD to the state budget.

It is expected that the total revenue of the mine after putting into operation phase 3 will reach about 160,000 billion VND by 2034, contributing about 76 million barrels of oil to Petrovietnam's total production output.

Proactively master the deep sea

Behind the technical figures of the project is the maturity of the Vietnamese petroleum engineering team. Dai Hung phase 3 marks the first time that a complex exploitation project in terms of geology - flow - depth has been carried out 100% by domestic forces.

This is a big step forward from the early days of dependence on foreign experts. This success not only creates the premise for expanding Lot 05-1(a) and neighboring areas, but also symbolizes Vietnam's industrial capacity in the strategic energy sector.

View of the construction site for the Dai Hung phase 3 mine project - Source: PVEP-POC

The flow of the entire Dai Hung field is expected to increase from the current 8,000 barrels per day to 18,000 barrels by the end of 2025 and will continue to increase. This is also the premise for expanding and developing the next phases such as the Dai Hung Nam field development project.

The Dai Hung Nam field development project, when put into operation, will increase the total field production capacity to nearly 30,000 barrels/day, making PVEP - POC one of the top 3 oil production units in Vietnam by 2030.

From a mine that was once considered economically unfeasible, when foreign investors withdrew and transferred the equipment to Petrovietnam for a symbolic price of 1 USD, Dai Hung has now become a symbol of self-reliance - self-reliance - creativity of the Vietnamese energy industry.

Reviving the $1 Transfer Project

Dai Hung field belongs to Nam Con Son basin, identified by ExxonMobil (USA) before 1975 and oil and gas reserves were assessed through exploratory drilling results by Vietsovpetro in the period 1986 - 1990.

In 1993, a consortium of international contractors represented by BHP Billiton Oil and Gas Company (Australia) was assigned to explore, evaluate and develop Dai Hung mine early.

However, the mining management process later encountered many challenges, foreign investors such as BHP and Petronas (Malaysia) withdrew from the project one after another, leaving all the means and mining equipment they had invested in to Petrovietnam for 1 USD.

After handing over the project to Vietsovpetro and partner Zarubezhneft (Russian Federation) deciding to withdraw from the project, Petrovietnam decided to transfer the management of the Dai Hung field development project to the Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP) from October 2003.

HONG PHUC

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mo-dai-hung-tu-du-an-chuyen-giao-1-usd-den-kha-nang-lam-chu-bien-sau-cua-nguoi-viet-20250516184119353.htm