Murphy Oil Corp. has declared an oil discovery in Block 15-1/05 in the Cuu Long Basin offshore Vietnam.
Exploration well Lac Da Hong-1X, or Pink Camel, encountered 106 feet of net oil pay from one reservoir after being drilled to a total depth of 13,616 feet in 151 feet of water.
Testing yielded a maximum flow rate of 2,500 barrels per day (bpd). “Additional testing showed high-quality oil with an API gravity of 38 degrees”, the Houston, Texas-based oil and gas explorer and producer said in its quarterly report.
The well sits 3 miles southwest of Murphy’s Lac Da Vang (Golden Camel) field project, whose floating storage and offloading vessel began construction in the quarter.
Murphy Cuu Long Bac Oil Co. Ltd. operates Block 15-1/05 with a 40 percent working stake. PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corp. Ltd., the upstream arm of state-owned Vietnam National Industry-Energy Group (PetroVietnam), holds 35 percent and South Korea’s SK Earthon Co. Ltd. 25 percent.
“The Lac Da Hong (Pink Camel) discovery, combined with the recently announced Hai Su Vang (Golden Sea Lion) discovery, deepens our understanding of the resource potential in our Cuu Long Basin blocks”, Murphy president and chief executive Eric M. Hambly said. “Each of these discoveries validates our exploration strategy and helps optimize future development plans in the Cuu Long Basin”.
Golden Sea Lion, in Block 15-2/17, showed about 370 feet of net oil pay from two reservoirs, drilled in 149 feet of water. Testing resulted in a facility-constrained flow rate of 10,000 bpd. The well showed “high-quality, 37-degree API oil”. Murphy plans to drill an appraisal well in the third quarter (Q3).
Murphy estimates the mean to upward gross potential to be 170 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) to 430 MMboe.
Murphy operates Block 15-2/17 with a 40 percent interest. PetroVietnam owns 35 percent and SK Earthon 25 percent.
Elsewhere in the Southeast Asian country, Murphy owns a 65 percent operating stake in deepwater blocks 144 and 145, which span a combined 6.55 million acres in the Phu Khanh Basin.
Meanwhile for Q1 2025, Murphy reported $73.04 million in net profit, down from $90 million for the same three-month period last year as production and sales volumes, as well as oil prices, fell.
Adjusted for discontinued operations and other special items, net income landed at $80.7 million, down from $130.8 million for Q1 2024. Adjusted net earnings per share came at $0.56, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents.
Net output averaged nearly 158,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boed), down from around 171,800 boed in Q1 2024. Crude and condensate totaled over 84,800 bpd, down from approximately 97,700 bpd in Q1 2024; a United States production decline offset a Canadian increase. Natural gas was 424.23 million cubic feet a day (MMcfd), down from 432.85 MMcfd in Q1 2024, despite an increase in U.S. onshore production. Natural gas liquids totaled more than 8,400 bpd, down from about 9,300 bpd as both Canadian and U.S. contributions fell.
Sales revenue totaled $672.73 million, down from $794.85 million. Murphy logged a $9.46 million loss from derivative instruments for Q1 2025.
Depreciation, depletion and amortization decreased from $211.13 million for Q1 2024 to $194.16 million for Q1 2025. Also affecting the year-on-year income difference was a $34.53-million asset impairment loss booked for Q1 2024.
Income from continuing operations before income taxes totaled $122.77 million, down from $145.59 million for Q1 2024. Operating activities generated $300.68 million in net cash, down from $398.79 million for Q1 2024.
Murphy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share or $1.3 per share annualized. It repurchased 3.6 million shares for $100 million in Q1 2025. It had $550 million remaining under its buyback program.
“We have successfully achieved the core objectives of our capital allocation framework since adopting it in third quarter 2022, as we have repaid approximately 35 percent of long-term debt, repurchased $550 million of shares and increased our quarterly dividend 30 percent”, Hambly said.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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