Murphy Oil is advancing significant development plans in Vietnam following major discoveries in the Cuu Long basin. The company is evaluating development concepts for the Hai Su Vang (Golden Sea Lion) oilfield, a major shallow-water discovery from last year with gross recoverable reserves estimated between 170 million and 430 million barrels of oil equivalent. A successful appraisal well suggests the resource is at the higher end of that range, making it one of the largest oil discoveries in Southeast Asia since 2000.

Development Plans and Timelines

The company aims to sanction the Hai Su Vang project by the end of 2027, targeting first oil in 2031. Two primary development concepts are under evaluation. One option is a design similar to Murphy's ongoing Lac Da Vang (Golden Camel) project, which features an offshore central processing platform and a floating storage and offloading vessel and is due on stream in late 2026. The alternative is a floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Each option presents trade-offs in schedule, capital expenditure, and execution risk, with the company intending to leverage its offshore development expertise to accelerate the project.

Production Potential and Exploration Strategy

The Hai Su Vang field has the potential to deliver gross production exceeding 100,000 barrels per day of oil. For Murphy, net production from Vietnam in the early 2030s is conservatively guided to be between 30,000 and 50,000 barrels per day. The company plans an active exploration program to support this growth. This includes drilling a new exploration well near Lac Da Vang in 2024 and ramping up exploration between 2027 and 2029 to discover additional volumes for tie-back developments to the Lac Da Vang infrastructure, with anticipated finds in the 20-40 million barrel range.

Geological and Commercial Context

Murphy operates in the prolific Cuu Long basin, which it describes as a proven basin with high success rates, stacked pay zones, fast cycle times, and existing infrastructure, creating favorable economics. The company credits its success to identifying potential missed by previous operators, including a supermajor, by applying a unique play concept not widely tested in the basin. Murphy's key assets are Block 15-1/05, hosting the Lac Da Vang project and four satellite discoveries, and Block 15-2/17, hosting the Hai Su Vang discovery. Its partners in both blocks are PetroVietnam Exploration & Production (PVEP) and SK Earthon.