The US-based oil company Murphy Oil has confirmed a significant offshore oil discovery in Vietnam’s Cuu Long Basin, with recoverable resources now estimated at up to 430 mboe (Murphy Oil press release, 08/01/2026).
Located approximately 64 km offshore Vietnam, the appraisal well was drilled in early October 2025. According to the company, “these results confirm Hai Su Vang as a significant discovery and support an updated estimate of recoverable resources for the field. The revised midpoint for recoverable resources in the primary reservoir is towards the upper end of the previously communicated range of 170–430 mboe, while the upper end of the updated range now exceeds 430 mboe.” Murphy Oil will proceed with additional appraisal wells at the Hai Su Vang prospect to further refine the estimate of recoverable resources.
The discovery comes at a time when Vietnam’s crude oil and NGL production halved between 2015 and 2020, declining from around 384 kb/d to 189 kb/d, before recovering since 2021, with production growing by an average of 3.7%/year to reach 215 kb/d in 2024 (Enerdata Global Energy & CO₂ data).
Murphy Oil operates Blocks 15-2/17 and 15-1/05 with a 40% working interest. The remaining interests are held by PetroVietnam EP (35%) and SK Earthon (25%).