Vietnam launches $230 million oil drilling rig

By Toan Dao August 13, 2016 | 07:56 pm PT

The platform is the largest ever to be made in the country and capable of drilling down 9km.

Vietnam’s biggest $230 million oil drilling rig ready in August

State-controlled PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard has handed over the Tam Dao 05 jackup, the largest drilling rig ever to be built in Vietnam, the new owner Vietsovpetro said in a statement on Saturday.

Leading oil producer Vietsovpetro awarded PV Shipyard the contract to build the $230-million rig in November 2013. Both companies are subsidiaries of Vietnam’s national oil and gas group PetroVietnam, which has a 51 percent stake in Vietsovpetro with the rest held by Russia's state-run Zarubezhneft.

The 18,000-ton self-elevating platform is able to operate in depths of 120 meters and drill to depths of up to 9,000 meters.

Vietsovpetro will use the new jackup to search for more oil and gas reserves in waters far from the coast, the statement said.

The handover ceremony of the Tam Dao 05 jackup. Photo by Vietsovpetro

The country’s first locally-made jackup, the Tam Dao 03, also owned by Vietsovpetro, was launched in 2012. It weighs 12,000 tons and can drill up to 6,000 meters. Vietsovpetro has the claim to Vietnam’s largest known oilfield Bach Ho off the southern coast.