S. Korea's SK Energy finds oil in Vietnam

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- SK Energy Co., South Korea's leading refiner, has
discovered an oil deposit at a jointly owned offshore field in Vietnam, the Seoul
government said Wednesday.
SK Energy discovered the crude deposit in the 15-1/05 block, in which it holds a
25 percent stake, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
The company has been drilling since August and "found good quality oil and pumped
out 4,300 barrels per day during a trial run," the ministry said in a release.
The block, located 180 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh city, is jointly owned
by Vietnam's state-run Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corp. (PVEP) and
France's oil giant Total. PVEP holds a 40 percent stake in the field with Total's
share standing at 35 percent.
SK Energy is entitled to a quarter of all oil and gas from the 3,800 sq.-kim
field. It added the three partners plan to extract oil and gas up till 2032, the
ministry said.
The discovery marks the second time that the South Korean energy company has
found oil in the Southeast Asian country, following the nearby 15-1 block in
cooperation with Korea National Oil Corp.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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