Vietnam Suspends Repsol's S China Sea Project: Report

Vietnam has reportedly cancelled a major oil and gas project in South China Sea in response to pressure from China whose territorial claims extend far beyond the norm.  The UK newsagency BBC in a report published March 22 said, citing sources, that state PetroVietnam has asked Repsol to suspend work on the Red Emperor oil and gas (Ca Rong Do) discovery off the south-east coast.

This the second time in a year that Vietnam has stopped Repsol’s drilling work in the South China Sea under Chinese pressure. Last July, the Spanish firm was asked to suspend work in Block 136/03, adjacent to the area where it has now been asked to stop drilling by the Vietnamese government.

It means Repsol and partners could lose up to $200mn of investment already made, BBC reported. The news is unexpected as final preparations for commercial drilling were under way. At time of press, Repsol had not responded to a request for a comment by NGW.

Ca Rong Do find is in marine block 07/03, where Repsol as operator holds an ownership interest of 46.75%. Abu Dhabi Mubadala holds a 21.25% interest, PetroVietnam 14.25%, PetroVietnam Exploration 12.75%, and Pan Pacific Petroleum 5%.