최초입력 2025.05.09 10:00:55
South Korea’s SK earthon, the energy exploration arm of SK innovation Co., made another crude oil discovery in Vietnam.
The company said on Thursday that U.S.-based Murphy Oil Corporation, which operates Vietnam’s 15-1/05 Block, announced during its earnings call on Wednesday that it discovered high-quality light crude oil at the “Pink Camel” (Lac Da Hong-1X) structure in the Cuu Long Basin. Trial production totaled 2,500 barrels per day.
Murphy Oil said the drilling uncovered a 32-meter oil-bearing formation at a depth of around 4,100 meters. The Pink Camel site lies just 5 kilometers from the “Golden Camel” field, where full-scale production is expected to begin in the second half of 2026.
This is SK earthon’s second oil discovery in Vietnam in 2025 to date. The company confirmed oil reserves and began trial production in the nearby 15-2/17 Block in January 2025, raising expectations for synergy across development zones.
The company has held a 25 percent stake in the 15-1/05 Block since joining the project in 2007. Murphy owns 40 percent and Vietnam’s state-run PetroVietnam Exploration Production (PVEP) holds the remaining 35 percent. The Pink Camel structure’s proximity to both the Golden Camel and the January discovery is expected to facilitate technical integration and cost savings in future development.
SK earthon and Murphy declared the Golden Camel field commercially viable in 2019, laying the groundwork for expanded offshore oil production in the region.
SK innovation has been in the energy development business via SK earthon since 1983. The company currently participates in 11 resource blocks across eight countries and operates three LNG projects, producing an average of 58,000 barrels of oil and gas per day in oil equivalent.
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