SK Earthon exploration project hits oil reserve off Vietnam

SK Earthon, an oil drilling subsidiary of SK Innovation, said that a partner company hit 370 feet of net pay in an oil exploration well off the coast of Vietnam.

A view of 16-2 block in Vietnam, where SK Earthon discovered crude oil in Nov. 2023. [SK EARTHON]

SK Earthon, a resource development subsidiary of SK Innovation, has discovered a vast reserve of crude oil in an offshore block in Vietnam.

The Korean company said Wednesday that Murphy Oil Corporation, a partner company that operates the 15-2/17 block in the Cuu Long Basin located 40 miles off the coast of Vietnam, has detected oil in the Hai Su Vang-1X exploration well, encountering approximately 370 feet of net pay from two reservoirs.

SK Earthon joined the exploration of the block in 2019 with a 25 percent stake. Murphy has 40 percent, while Vietnam's state-run PetroVietnam Exploration Production has 35 percent.

The block is located near the 15-1 block, which has the second-largest crude oil output in Vietnam, and has strong potential for resource development, SK Earthon said.

A map of the 15-2/17 block in the Cuu Long Basin, located 40 miles offshore of Vietnam [SK EARTHON]

Since first entering the resource development market in 1983, SK Innovation discovered crude oil in the Marib block in northern Yemen. It started with production of 150,000 barrels a day in 1987.

SK Innovation then split off SK Earthon, a petroleum exploration company, to handle its resource development businesses overseas. As of now, it engages in exploration projects in 11 blocks in eight countries and three liquefied natural gas projects to produce 57,000 barrels of crude oil and gas per day.

SK Innovation's oil development business recorded 427.6 billion won ($290 million) in operating profit in 2024 as of the end of September, with revenue reaching 1.1 trillion won.

"The development in the 15-1/05 block also has begun earnestly, and our Vietnam projects are proceeding very smoothly," said a spokesperson for SK Earthon. "We will speed up increasing our market presence in Southeast Asian countries."

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]