Dai Hung

Dai Hung Oil and Gas Field Profile

The Dai Hung Oil and Gas Field, also known as the Big Bear field, is located offshore Vietnam, specifically in Block 05-1a.
It is situated approximately 265 km south of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
The field operates in shallow water with a depth of 361 feet.

The field was initially discovered by Mobil Oil & Gas in 1974 but was not developed by them. In 1986, Vietsovpetro took over the development of the field.
In 1993, Vietsovpetro signed a production-sharing agreement with a BHP Petroleum-led consortium to develop the field. This marked the beginning of the first phase of development.
The first production from the field began in October 1994, with four of the seven appraisal and development wells completed as production wells by August 1994.

The field is currently operated by PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corp (PVEP), an upstream subsidiary of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).
PetroVietnam owns 100% of the field.

The field started production in 1994 and reached peak production in 2011. As of recent data, the field has recovered 72.59% of its total recoverable reserves.
The current production rate includes approximately 4.81 million barrels of crude oil and condensate per year (as of 2017) and 3.44 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per year (as of 2023).
The field is expected to continue production until it reaches its economic limit in 2034.

The remaining recoverable reserves of crude oil and condensate are estimated to be around 28.94 million barrels (as of 2021) and 29.76 million barrels (as of 2023).

The oil produced from the field is processed on the Floating Production Unit (FPU-DH1) and transported to a Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) buoy. From there, it is loaded onto the Hikari Orient Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) unit for storage before being transferred to shuttle tankers for onshore transportation.
The field includes several wells, with some used for water injection to maintain production levels. The wells are tied back to the FPU-DH1 and the Dai Hung Well Head Platform 1 through flowlines and umbilicals.

Phase I: Involved the drilling of seven appraisal and development wells by the BHP consortium. Four of these wells were completed as production wells by August 1994.
Phase II: Approved in 2007, this phase included drilling three new wells and the installation of a fixed wellhead platform, Dai Hung Well Head Platform 1. PVEP signed a $200 million loan agreement for the expansion in 2011.
Phase III: Currently in the construction stage, this phase involves a 12-well campaign using the Shelf Drilling Perseverance rig. The project is expected to start in 2025.

Key contractors involved include Zarubezhneft as the main EPC contractor, and other contractors such as Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and Federal International (2000).
Vietsovpetro has also been involved in the development and construction of various platforms and infrastructure for the field.

The Dai Hung field currently accounts for approximately 3% of Vietnam’s daily oil output.
The expansion and development of the field are part of Vietnam’s efforts to increase national oil production in response to declining rates from aging fields.