EurOil: UK's Harbour exits Vietnam in $84mn deal with local firm

UK energy group Harbour has agreed to sell its assets in Vietnam to a local buyer called Big Energy for $84mn, in a deal that covers its 53.1% interest in the Chim Sao and Dua producing fields.

In a statement on August 10, Harbour said the sales and purchase agreement (SPA) would be backdated to become effective from January 1 this year, with completion targets by year-end. It marks the firm’s complete withdrawal from the country, where it obtained assets after merging with another UK player Premier Oil two years ago.

“While Vietnam does not form a core part of our growth strategy going forward, we are proud of the quality of the business we have built, both in terms of the organisation and assets, since our country's entry in 2004,” Premier CEO Linda Cook said in a statement.

The Chim Sao and Dua fields are both located in Block 12W, and are expected to produce around 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) net to Harbour’s stake this year. Chim Sao was discovered in 2006 and yielded its first oil in 2011, with oil exported via a floating FPSO vessel, while gas is delivered by pipeline to Vung Tau near Ho Chi Minh City. Dua was subsequently developed as a subsea tie-back to Chim Sao and came on stream in 2014.

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