Fire on Offshore Oil Platform at Vietnam’s First Decommissioning Project

 

Vietnamese officials confirmed that there was a devastating fire at the Song Doc offshore oil platform on Wednesday. The platform is the country’s first decommissioning project. 

An unconfirmed report in the Viet Nam News and appearing in the other local outlets says that one person was killed in the fire. Seven others were being reported as injured, although the official reports did not include mention of a death or injuries. Officials emphasized the fire was brought under control in 30 minutes.

The Song Doc oil platform was an important offshore development for the country discovered in 2006 and brought into production in 2008 by the national company PVEP POC, a subsidiary of Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation along with two investment partners. It was a relatively small site producing at its maximum around 28,000 barrels per day.

For the last decade of the operations, PVEP POC was the sole owner after the two investors left the project in 2013. They cited high costs which were said to make the well uneconomical. PVEP POC was assigned to continue the operations and deplete the well, which it reported happened in 2023.

The site officially ceased production in February 2024 with the company reporting it was capped. They submitted a plan for decommissioning and removal of the platform, which was approved by the regulators.

 

 

Work was underway on the decommissioning with the reports saying a subcontractor was conducting a cleaning process at the site when the fire began on Wednesday afternoon. It is unclear how many workers were on the platform. The videos show a fireboat working to control the fire.

The company is reporting there was no pollution and the fire did not affect normal operations and production at the other oil and gas projects in the area. They said there would be an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Song Doc is located approximately 125 miles south of Ca Mau Cape at the southernmost tip of Vietnam. It is in the Gulf of Thailand.