First Oil Achieved at New Offshore Production Platform in Vietsovpetro's Bach Ho Field, Vietnam

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 9, the BK-26 unmanned wellhead platform of Vietsovpetro, a Vietnam-Russia joint venture, located in Block 09-1 of the Bach Ho field offshore Vietnam, produced its first commercial crude oil at 7:15 local time, 36 days ahead of the December 15, 2026 schedule approved by the two sides' boards of directors. The project includes the construction of the new BK-26 wellhead platform and a connecting bridge to the existing MSP-8 platform, the modification of the MSP-8 platform to receive and process the additional oil and gas products, and the relocation of the submarine power cable route between MSP-8 and MSP-4.

The BK-26 is designed as an unmanned wellhead platform, located near the existing MSP-8 platform and connected to it via a connecting bridge. According to the 2025 Bach Ho field development environmental impact assessment report prepared by Vietsovpetro, the water depth at the BK-26 location is approximately 50 meters, the platform has a design life of 15 years, and 9 development wells are planned. The platform has a design liquid processing capacity of 1,500 cubic meters per day, a natural gas processing capacity of 350,000 standard cubic meters per day, and a gas lift gas processing capacity of 250,000 standard cubic meters per day. These figures are design parameters and do not represent actual daily production currently achieved.

The oil, gas, and produced water from BK-26 are first transported via the connecting bridge to the MSP-8 platform, where oil-gas separation and flow metering are completed, and then sent to the CTP-2 and CTK-3 platforms for further degassing and dehydration. The processed crude oil is stored on floating storage units at the UBN-1 or UBN-4 locations of the Bach Ho field. The modification of pipelines, processes, and electrical control systems on MSP-8 is an important part of integrating BK-26 into the existing field production system.

Project design and equipment procurement began in January 2025, with formal construction commencing on December 29, 2025. On April 24, 2026, the jacket of the BK-26 platform completed onshore fabrication and acceptance; offshore installation was completed on May 17; the topside module and connecting bridge passed onshore acceptance on September 8 and completed offshore installation and connection on September 15. On November 3, the Vietsovpetro acceptance committee completed the overall project acceptance, approved commissioning on November 5, and first oil was subsequently achieved on November 9.

The commissioning of BK-26 is part of the ongoing development plan for the Bach Ho field. The Bach Ho field is located in Block 09-1 offshore Vietnam and is one of the main fields developed by Vietsovpetro over the long term. As mature fields experience natural decline, the operator continues to tie in additional oil and gas resources through the construction of new unmanned wellhead platforms, drilling of development wells, and modification of existing production facilities. The additional production from BK-26 will supplement the existing production system of the field, support Vietsovpetro in fulfilling its 2026 production and business plan, and sustain production in subsequent years. The project also demonstrates an engineering approach to developing resources around mature fields by utilizing existing platforms, pipelines, and processing facilities.