With farm-out talks ongoing, UK oil & gas firm secures extension for two blocks off Vietnam

UK-headquartered oil and gas player Pharos Energy Plc, previously SOCO International, has received a licence extension for two blocks located in the moderate to deepwater Phu Khanh Basin, northeast of the Cuu Long Basin, offshore central Vietnam.

Pharos Energy revealed on Tuesday, 13 June 2023, that it had received approval from the Vietnamese government for the two-year extension – from 8 November 2023 to 7 November 2025 – for phase one of the exploration period for the blocks 125 and 126 production sharing contract (PSC).

Jann Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Pharos, commented: “We are pleased to have received approval from the Vietnamese government for the two-year extension of the Block 125 and 126 exploration period. This approval shows the encouraging level of support from the government while we progress our discussions with a number of interested parties to secure a farm-in partner before drilling the commitment well on Block 125.”

Pharos holds a 70 per cent interest and is the designated operator of blocks 125 and 126, which comprise 10,691 km2 of acreage in the southern part of the Phu Khanh Basin. The company’s partner, SOVICO, holds the remaining 30 per cent working interest.

The production sharing contract and the investment registration certificate for the blocks were issued in 2017. Pharos Energy concluded a 3D seismic survey on the western part of Block 125 in July 2021.

This is not the company’s only asset offshore Vietnam, as it also has a 30.5 per cent stake in Block 16-1, encompassing the TGT field located in the shallow water Cuu Long Basin, approximately 100 km from Vung Tau, 20 km northwest of the Bach Ho field and 35 km west of the Rang Dong field.

The production from TGT started in 2011. The oil from the field is transported by a sub-sea pipeline to a nearby FPSO Armada TGT 1, where it is processed and then exported by a tanker. The gas from this field is processed at nearby Bach Ho facilities and transported by pipeline to shore, to supply the Vietnamese domestic market.