Offshore Technology

Daily Newsletter

14 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

ONGC Videsh seeks another extension for Vietnamese offshore oil block

The company has submitted a proposal for a three-year extension of the phase one exploration at the 7,058km² block.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)'s overseas unit ONGC Videsh (OVL) has sought approval from Vietnamese authorities for the eighth extension of the exploration licence for Block 128 offshore Phu Khanh Basin, reported PTI via Business Standard.

The company has submitted a three-year extension of the phase one exploration at the block to the regulator PVN. The seventh extension at the block was until 15 June 2023.

OVL signed a production sharing contract (PSC) for Block 128 with Vietnam's national oil company PetroVietnam in May 2006.

The company has since not found any commercially recoverable oil and gas reserves in the block, which is located in the South China Sea.

However, OVL continued its presence in the block due to the strategic interest of India in the South China Sea.

The company has completed the licence requirement for 3D seismic data shooting and 2D seismic data reprocessing and drilling of the committed one well. It also completed petroleum system modelling studies on data provided by PetroVietnam.

OVL operates the block with a 100% stake. The block covers an area of 7,058km² with water depths ranging from 200m to 2,000m offshore Phu Khanh Basin.

In Vietnam, ONGC also owns a 100% exploration licence for the 955km² Block 06.1 in the Nam Con Son basin. This block comprises two producing fields: Lan Tay and Lan Do.

O&G players, with a focus on net-zero emissions, should look at low-carbon hydrogen as a suitable alternative

Low-carbon hydrogen presents an attractive avenue for oil companies focussing on net-zero emissions. Green and blue hydrogen are the main types of low-carbon hydrogen alternatives, with the former still in the early stages of development with most of the upcoming projects around the world at the feasibility stage, and the latter could be an intermediate step for oil and gas companies before moving to green hydrogen. Of the nearly 1,500 hydrogen plants currently being built, about 90% are based on green hydrogen while 8% are based on blue hydrogen.