en.Wedoany.com Reported - Murphy Oil Corporation (Murphy Oil) of the United States has disclosed that the Lạc Đà Trắng North-1X exploration well in Block 15-1/05 offshore Vietnam spudded in July 2026. The pre-drill estimated total recoverable resource potential for the well ranges from 40 to 80 million barrels of oil equivalent. The drilling results will determine whether this prospect can be tied back to the adjacent Lạc Đà Vàng field development facilities.
Lạc Đà Trắng means "White Camel." The project is located in the Cuu Long Basin off southern Vietnam. Murphy Oil holds a 40% working interest in Block 15-1/05 and serves as operator, with PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), a subsidiary of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, holding 35% and SK Earthon of South Korea holding the remaining 25%.
The North-1X well now being drilled is not the first exploration well on the Lạc Đà Trắng structure. Murphy Oil completed the Lạc Đà Trắng-1X well in April 2019 and announced a hydrocarbon discovery, with the results subsequently incorporated into the development evaluation of the adjacent Lạc Đà Vàng field. North-1X will further test the resource potential of the northern portion of the structure; however, until logging, coring, and necessary formation testing are completed, pre-drill estimates cannot be converted into discovery volumes or recoverable reserves.
Lạc Đà Trắng North is located in close proximity to the Lạc Đà Vàng development project currently under construction. Murphy Oil stated that if this drilling campaign yields a commercial discovery, the associated resources could be tied back to the Lạc Đà Vàng production facilities via subsea pipelines, eliminating the need for a standalone full offshore processing system. This option remains contingent on downhole results, resource evaluation, engineering design, and approval from the Vietnamese government.
As the core development project for Block 15-1/05, Phase 1 of Lạc Đà Vàng comprises a central processing platform, wellhead and subsea injection/production systems, subsea pipelines, and a floating storage and offloading vessel. Vietnam's PTSC M&C is responsible for the design, procurement, construction, transportation, installation, hook-up, and commissioning of the central processing platform, with the topside weighing approximately 6,500 tonnes and the jacket and piles approximately 4,600 tonnes.
As of August 2026, the Lạc Đà Vàng platform topside has been installed offshore, and the floating storage and offloading vessel has been mobilized to its final operating location. The project is targeting first oil in the fourth quarter of 2026, with expected peak production of approximately 10,000 to 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Once the platform is commissioned, it will provide potential centralized processing and tie-back infrastructure for surrounding discoveries such as Lạc Đà Trắng and Lạc Đà Hồng.
The actual commercial value of North-1X will be determined by the drilling results. If a developable discovery is established, the next phase is expected to include resource assessment, well location evaluation, subsea tie-back concept design, and approval of the associated development plan; if the commercial threshold is not met, the well will serve as geological data for the block, used to adjust subsequent exploration plans in Block 15-1/05.
