E & P Projects of Cambodia and Vietnam shall sustain bullish sentiments of Asian Offshore Sector

The surge in demand for energy led to series of offshore E & P projects by oil majors which in turn has created bullish environment of growth for marine & offshore industries worldwide. Though this growth may keep the world players busy till 2012 but thanks to peace in Cambodia and industrialization of Vietnam, which for Asia pacific, the growth cycle shall be sustained for much longer periods.

Cambodia has discovered 7 offshore fields covering 37000 square kilometers of undisputed waters in Gulf of Thailand which is estimated to contain 2 billion barrels of oil reserves and 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas according to a recent study conducted jointly by United Nations Development Program and Harvard University.

The government of Cambodia is already in the process of negotiating PSC’s (Production Sharing Contracts) with major international consortiums.

In addition there are still unexplored fields in disputed waters covering 27000 square kilometers with Thailand besides potential shares in Spratly Islands and fields adjoining Malaysia and Brunei.

The second major contributor to growth of offshore sector is Vietnam, having launched series of exploration, production, refinery and power plant projects, which are the drivers for developing the national economy. The proven Oil reserves of 600 million barrels and 6.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of Gas reserves in 2006 coupled with increasing E & P activities, Vietnam shall continue to be the center stage of Asia Pacific offshore industries.

Bach Ho (White Tiger), Rang Dong (Dawn), Hang Ngoc, Dai Hung (Big Bear), and Su Tu Den (Ruby) are the largest oil producing fields in the country. The latest producing fields are Golden Tuna, White Elephant, and Dragon field while nine exploration blocks in Phu Khanh basin off southern coast are being launched.

According to EIA report, at present the largest natural gas is produced as associated gas, from Cuu Long basin offshore from Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. The yet untapped regions for NG are Su Tu Den & Rang Dong oil fields, Malay basin PM3-CAA block and Cai Nuoc field in block 46.

The domestic consumption of hydrocarbons is the lowest in Asia making Vietnam net exporter of crude oil but for refined products, Vietnam has to rely on imports.
Both Cambodia and Vietnam are members of the ASEAN and are dependent on support services from within the region. The offshore supplies for rigs & platforms, MPSV’s (Multi Purpose Support Vessels) services and spares are imported through Singapore.
The fundamental requirement for economic growth is availability of skilled manpower, which is also being developed through training and education of personnel from the regional institutions.

These fundamental factors create continuous opportunities for mature and established offshore services sectors of Singapore and Asia Pacific.

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