The Ca Ngu Vang (CNV) oil and gas field is located in Block 9-2, in the Cuu Long Basin, southeast of Vung Tau City, offshore Vietnam. The block covers an area of 1,370km².
Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP – formerly PIDC) holds a 50% interest in the block, while PTTEP Hoan-Vu Company (PTTEP) and SOCO Vietnam hold 25% each. Hoan Vu Joint Operating Company (HVJOC), created in December 2000, operates the block on behalf of the partners.
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SOCO and PIDC were awarded the licence to explore the block in December 2000 and PTTEP joined them in February 2002.
The field started production in July 2008 at an initial rate of 8,000 barrels per day of oil and 20 million metric standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of gas. The field is estimated to have a production life of approximately 20 years.
CNV field development details
The field was discovered in October 2002 following the drilling of three exploration wells. It was further appraised and was declared commercial in April 2006. The Field Development Plan (FDP) was approved in December 2006.
The development involved the installation of an unmanned wellhead platform (WHP) tied back to Vietsovpetro’s CPP3 central processing platform at Bach Ho field in Block 9-1 and the development of four production wells. Two 26km-long and 10in-diameter subsea pipelines connect the two platforms. The field currently has five producing wells, all of which were drilled using PetroVietnam’s PV Drilling 1 rig.
The second phase of development drilling at the field started in April 2010 and involved the drilling of an additional well by Scorpion Offshore’s Offshore Resolute jack-up rig.
The field achieved a milestone in December 2011 when it reached its 2011 crude oil production target of 128% without any lost time injuries and incidents.
Oil and gas supply from HVJOC’S field
The crude oil is processed and stored in a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel near Bach Ho field and supplied to refineries, while wet gas separated offshore is transported to an onshore gas facility and sold to PV Gas for use at the Phu My power plant.
CNV Full Field Development
HVJOC further received regulatory approvals for the Full Field Development Plan for CNV, which includes the drilling of the CNV-7P development well from the Vietnamese government in the first half of 2013. The project aims to access the undrilled south-western corner of the field and maintain a consistent production level from the field.
Drilling activities for the CNV-7P development well started in April 2014 using the Naga 2 rig. They were, however, suspended in late 2014 due to unexpected geological issues. HVJOC plans to resume drilling the well in 2015.
Contractors involved with the Vietnamese oil and gas field
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the WHP’s topsides was awarded to Vietsovpetro, who worked in collaboration with EDG Consulting Engineers.
Detailed engineering design of the pipelines and risers, additional engineering, and construction management services were performed by Cronus Technology.
The WHP and the subsea pipelines were installed using Clough Thailand’s derrick pipelay barge Java Constructor. Clough also supplied the pipe components for the project.
ABB supplied its System 800xA control system, Plantguard emergency shutdown system, Plantguard fire and gas detection system, a wellhead control panel with hydraulic power unit, the telecommunications equipment required for the WHP and CPP3 platforms, and the power generation systems for the WHP. The control modules for the WHP were supplied by Satech System Automation.
Three Vietnamese banks namely Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) provided a loan of approximately $51m for the field’s development.
