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Vietnam’s oil production slump and the need for new reserves
From a peak of ~365,000 barrels per day in 2005, Vietnam’s crude output has fallen to below 120,000 bpd in 2025, prompting urgent search for new fields.
Hải Sư Vàng: the biggest Southeast Asian oil find in two decades
With an estimated reserve of up to 430 million barrels, the Hải Sư Vàng field in the Cửu Long basin is the largest oil discovery in Southeast Asia since 2000.
Murphy Oil’s Vietnamese subsidiary successfully completed the appraisal well HSV-2X (Lot 15-2/17) about 64 km offshore. The well recorded a total oil‑bearing thickness of 131 m and a flow rate of roughly 6,000 barrels per day of 37° API crude.
Earlier, the exploratory well HSV-1X, drilled from Q4 2024, intersected about 112 m of oil‑bearing strata, confirming the presence of a sizable reservoir.
Independent assessment
Wood Mackenzie, the UK‑based energy analyst, ranks Hải Sư Vàng as the third‑largest oil discovery in the region since 2000, after Indonesia’s Banyu Urip (2001) and Malaysia’s Gumusut (2003). The firm cautions that the 430 million‑barrel figure could rise pending further appraisal.
Implications for Vietnam’s energy balance
Wood Mackenzie expects the find to help reverse the long‑term decline in domestic crude output. If commercialized, the field could add several thousand barrels per day, easing import dependence.
Legal and regulatory bottlenecks
Despite the technical promise, Vietnam’s approval procedures remain slow. Investors, including Murphy Oil, have warned that delays could postpone the field’s commercial start‑up, making the speed of recent legal reforms a key performance indicator.
Jasman Adam Leong, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie, notes that amendments to the 2023 Oil and Gas Law aim to improve the investment climate, but real‑world implementation will determine the outcome.
Murphy Oil’s next steps
CEO Eric Hambly emphasizes that HSV‑2X is a milestone. The company plans additional appraisal wells HSV‑3X and HSV‑4X to delineate the reservoir further. Parallel projects include the Lạc Đà Vàng field (Cửu Long basin) targeting first oil in Q4 2026, and ongoing drilling at HSV‑1X and Lạc Đà Hồng‑1X.
To date, Murphy Oil has invested roughly US$300 million in Vietnamese exploration and operates several blocks in the Cửu Long and Phú Khánh basins. A joint venture with PVEP and South Korea’s SK Earthon under a Production Sharing Contract allocates 40 % to Murphy, 35 % to PVEP, and 25 % to SK Earthon.
