SK Earthon Starts Oil Flow in Vietnam, Finds New Reserve

SK Earthon, a unit of South Korea's SK Innovation, has begun pumping crude from an offshore Vietnamese block. The start came about two years after the project kicked off. Murphy Oil, the operator, finished the prep work early and moved the launch date forward.

The Golden Camel field is thought to hold roughly 60 million barrels that can be recovered. The first well is already running, and more wells will be drilled to boost output. When fully built out, the whole block could produce up to 25,000 barrels a day.

Ownership is split three ways: Murphy holds 40 percent, Vietnam's state firm PVEP has 35 percent, and SK Earthon owns 25 percent. SK Earthon has been active in Vietnam since the late 1990s and has already brought oil from several other structures in the same basin.

While drilling a nearby exploration well, the team hit a 56‑meter thick oil layer at about 3,800 meters depth. Another find at the Red Camel site was confirmed last year. The partners plan to develop the three discoveries together, using a clustering approach that shares tech and experience across adjacent blocks. This move helps diversify energy sources and supports national energy security.