Petrovietnam and its joint venture partners have officially signed the Product Sharing Contract (PSC) for Block 15-1 in the southern continental shelf of Vietnam.

This is an important event, affirming the determination and capacity of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) in continuing to promote oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities, contributing to stabilizing the country's energy supply.

Block 15-1 is one of the oil and gas blocks of special strategic significance for the exploration and exploitation activities of Petrovietnam and the Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP).

Initially, Block 15-1 was operated under a joint venture model, bringing together five international and domestic partners, including PVEP, ConocoPhillips Cuu Long (UK), KNOC and SK (Korea) and Geopetrol (Monaco). Later, Perenco (France - UK) took over the capital of ConocoPhillips to continue its operating role.

Under the form of joint operation through Cuu Long Joint Operating Company (Cuu Long JOC), this is one of the rare "large-scale" joint ventures in the Vietnamese oil and gas industry.

In the newly signed PSC, PVEP holds 59%, Perenco holds 19.8%, KNOC holds 11.4%, SK holds 7.2% and Geopetrol holds 2.6%.

This week’s signing ceremony officially kicks off Phase 2B of the White Lion Project, a major $1.3 billion investment, said a Perenco representative. This is not just a commercial agreement, but also a major step towards ensuring energy security for Vietnam. When completed, the project will supply 125 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to the domestic market.

Since its discovery and development, Block 15-1 has continuously contributed large production output, high economic efficiency and played a role as one of the pillars of national oil and gas production over the past many years.

In 2003, the first oil was extracted from the Black Lion field, quickly turning this area into one of the bright spots in Vietnam's offshore oil and gas production, with estimated reserves of about 600 million barrels of oil, second only to the White Tiger field.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said that Block 15-1 has been in operation for 27 years, has exploited about 430 million barrels of oil, achieved total revenue of over 31 billion USD and paid nearly 15 billion USD to the state budget. These are very impressive figures, not only demonstrating the economic efficiency of the industry, but also an important contribution to the socio-economic development of the country in recent years.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Vietnam continues to persistently and consistently implement the reform policy; proactively and actively integrate into the international community; and set the goal of becoming a developing country with modern industry and high average income by 2030; and becoming a developed country with high income by 2045. Accordingly, Vietnam strives to achieve a growth rate of over 8% in 2025 and double digits in the next period, preparing to enter the "New Era - the era of national development".

The newly signed contract will facilitate the continued efficient exploitation of existing mines while opening up opportunities to discover and develop new potential structures in the area.

Maintaining and expanding exploitation activities at Block 15-1 also contributes to ensuring national energy security, while maintaining Vietnam's strong presence in sovereign waters.

“In the coming time, the demand for energy for development is very large, clearly shown in the recent Adjustment of the 13th Power Plan. The early and highly effective implementation of key energy projects, oil and gas projects, and important oil and gas contracts, such as PSC Block 15-1 today, plays a very important role in contributing to achieving the goals of developing the national oil and gas industry, ensuring energy security and socio-economic development of the country,” Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized.

KeyFacts Energy: PetroVietnam Vietnam country profile