Vietnam and the US cooperate in exploiting an 8 trillion cubic meter gas field.

American corporation Exxon Mobil and Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (Petro Vietnam) are negotiating a cooperation agreement to exploit the Ca Voi Xanh gas field.

In a report submitted to the Standing Committee of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee on the implementation of large-scale projects in the Dung Quat Economic Zone, Vice Chairman Pham Nhu So stated that experts assess the potential gas reserves at the Blue Whale gas field to be approximately 6,000-8,000 billion cubic meters.

This reserve is equivalent to two-thirds of the natural gas reserves of Thailand and Myanmar, with which Exxon Mobil Corporation has a partnership.

The Blue Whale gas field is the largest gas field ever discovered in Vietnam.

According to the plan, the first phase of the project will involve constructing a gas pipeline from the drilling rig to the treatment plant (to separate toxic H2S gas), which will then supply gas to power plants with a total capacity of approximately 4,500 MW.

"This is a large-scale national project, with an estimated investment of approximately $10 billion for the power plants. Once operational, the project promises to generate around $17 billion in revenue annually."

Mr. So added that Exxon Mobil and PetroVietnam are negotiating a cooperation agreement and gas price, which is expected to be reached by the end of this year or early 2015.

Exxon Mobil's positive attitude

According to the Vietnam Gas Industry Development Plan up to 2015, with a vision to 2025, approved by the Prime Minister, gas from blocks 117, 118, and 119 of the Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) field on the continental shelf will be brought into the Dung Quat Economic Zone to develop a gas-electricity industrial cluster, with a capacity of approximately 2 to 4 billion cubic meters per year, expected to be operational from 2018.

Exxon Mobil is the world's largest national oil and gas corporation in the United States, with total revenue of $404.5 billion in 2007, including a profit of approximately $40.6 billion.

This is the world's second-largest oil and gas company after Russia's Rosneft, with a daily crude oil production of approximately 6.5 million barrels. For many years, Exxon Mobil has had a cooperation agreement with Vietnam for oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea.

In May 2014, during a visit to Vietnam by a delegation from Exxon Mobil Corporation, President Truong Tan Sang affirmed Vietnam's support for cooperation between American businesses and Vietnamese partners in the oil and gas sector. The President expressed his hope that American businesses, as well as other foreign partners, would achieve great success in Vietnam.

Appreciating Exxon Mobil's positive goodwill in the survey and implementation process in coordination with its Vietnamese partner, the President suggested that both sides focus on effectively fulfilling their trade commitments in 2014.

Source: Dat Viet Newspaper