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Soco International defers oil production in Vietnam
The oil and gas giant, Soco International, has deferred the planned commencement of oil production from Vietnam’s Te Giac Trang (White Rhino) field from next year to 2011, according to a UK Financial Times report.
The move reflected the Vietnamese government's wish to set a target that could be achieved, the paper cited Soco's president and chief executive, Ed Story, as saying.
There has also been a slowdown in the drilling schedule for the Te Giac Den (Black Rhino) field, also in Vietnam, which Story said last year "could dwarf the rest of the company" if it is found to contain as much oil as the company hoped.
Last June there were suggestions that an additional well could be drilled in the field within six to nine months; now Soco has announced that it has no plans for another well until the first half of next year, the paper said.
Soco plans to increase its output eightfold to more than 35,000 barrels a day by 2013, as it brings the large Te Giac Trang field in Vietnam online.
The company also indicated that it was not close to a deal to sell the majority of its assets, although "preliminary" talks had been held with an unnamed potential buyer, generally identified in market speculation as Sinochem of China.
However, Ed Story said that talks to sell the companies’ assets had proceeded "sporadically", but there was "nothing definitive to discuss".
Last year, Soco sold its assets in Yemen to Sinochem for 465 million USD./.
Vietnamplus
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