Soco International ups production in Vietnam

Soco International, an oil and gas exploration and production company, has completed the first phase of a multi-stage test of the TGT floating production storage and operating (FPSO) oil production handling capacity beyond the 55,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) contractual minimum quantity.

This follows an agreement with the owner and operator of the FPSO vessel, and approval from the relevant Vietnamese authorities.

During the tests, the FPSO successfully processed sustained production of over 60,000 bopd, suggesting that only minor modifications to the low pressure separator system would be required.

These will now be made ahead of the next phase of the testing programme, set to begin in June of this year, when production volumes of over 60,000 bopd will be processed.

Ed Story, President and Chief Executive Officer of SOCO, said: "The results of the first phase of the FPSO capacity test fully support our belief that with only minor modifications the FPSO should comfortably be able to handle volumes of around 70,000 bopd. This gives us considerable confidence that the TGT Field production levels can be maintained at a rate of around 55,000 bopd."

The share price rose 0.8% to 371.40p by 09:15 on Thursday.

NR