Jadestone advances gas venture off southwest Vietnam

Jadestone advances gas venture off southwest Vietnam

Jadestone Energy plc, an independent upstream production and development company focused on Asia-Pacific, announced on March 18 that it has submitted a field development plan (FDP) for the Nam Du/U Minh (NDUM) discoveries off southwest Vietnam to PetroVietnam.

The FDP sets out a phased development concept for NDUM, which is based on unmanned wellhead platforms at each of the Nam Du and U Minh fields tied back to a floating production and storage unit, with processed gas exported onshore through a 34km pipeline tied into an existing trunkline to the Ca Mau industrial complex in southwest Vietnam.

The first phase of the FDP envisages the Nam Du field initially being brought onstream, accelerating first gas to Vietnam and revenues to Jadestone to help fund the development of U Minh production in the second phase. The FDP contemplates drilling two wells from each platform to support a plateau rate of 80 million standard cubic feet per day. Following receipt of Petrovietnam’s endorsement, the FDP will be considered for approval by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The next steps in the development process include finalising the gas sales agreement, which is well advanced with the gas buyer, to formalise the heads of terms agreed in January 2024. A financing plan, which could involve bringing in development partners, would be progressed in parallel with major contract tenders.

The Nam Du and U Minh fields are located off southwest Vietnam in shallow waters of 50-60m. The fields are located on Block 46/07 and Block 51 PSCs respectively, which Jadestone operates with 100 per cent working interests. Nam Du and U Minh have been independently assessed to contain gross aggregate 2C resources of 171.3 billion standard cubic feet of gas and 1.6 million barrels of oil liquids.

Adel Chaouch, executive chairman of Jadestone, commented, “Our Vietnam gas assets are fundamental to Jadestone’s investment case and are central to our strategic aim of being the leading Asia-Pacific upstream independent. Development of the discovered resource base will drive significant organic growth and value creation for our shareholders, with further material upside possible from additional prospects and leads across our licence position."

"Submission of an FDP is therefore a major milestone in the commercialisation of the Nam Du/U Minh discoveries and demonstrates real momentum in our engagement with the Vietnam government. The development of Nam Du/U Minh would be a win-win for both Jadestone and Vietnam, delivering affordable gas supplies with a lower GHG intensity to the southwest of the country, creating and sustaining jobs and economic benefits,” Chaouch said.

VIR