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SK earthon reports oil reserve discovery at offshore site in Vietnam

Published: 08 May. 2025, 14:01 Updated: 08 May. 2025, 14:44

This undated file photo provided by SK earthon shows a drilling facility in Block 15-1/05 off the coast of Vietnam. [YONHAP]

SK earthon, a Korean oil exploration and production (E&P) company, said Thursday that oil reserves have been discovered in a Vietnamese block in which the company holds a stake.

U.S.-based Murphy Oil, the operator of Block 15-1/05, recently found a 32-meter-thick (105-feet-thick) oil layer in the block located in the Cuu Long Basin and has been testing production of 2,500 barrels of light crude oil per day, SK earthon said in a press release.

SK earthon holds a 25 percent stake in the block, based on its 2007 investment. Murphy Oil and Vietnam's state-run Petro Vietnam Exploration Production own 40 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

In January, oil reserves were also discovered in Block 15-2/17, located 64 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, in which the Korean firm also holds a 25 percent stake.

SK earthon has been expanding its E&P activities in China and Southeast Asia to bolster the bottom line of its refining parent company. Since 2022, it has generated over 1 trillion won ($716.6 million) in annual sales from overseas E&P projects.

The company is a wholly owned energy unit of SK Innovation, the country's leading refiner and part of SK Group.

Yonhap