Petrovietnam Journal

Sand production risk prediction in weakly consolidated formations using an integrated geomechanical approach: A case study from Cuu Long basin, offshore Vietnam

Quy Ngoc Pham — 2025-12-22

Sand production during hydrocarbon extraction represents a critical operational challenge, particularly in weakly consolidated formations such as the Miocene sandstones of the Cuu Long basin, offshore Vietnam, leading to production losses, equipment damage, and potential well abandonment. Accurate prediction is essential for optimizing completion design and selecting suitable sand control.
This study presents a multi-index geomechanical approach for predicting sand production risk using five indicators: (1) sonic transit time (DTCO), (2) sand production index - BI, (3) Schlumberger sand production ratio - SR, (4) combined elastic modulus - Ec, and (5) unconfined compressive strength - UCS. These indices are derived from basic well logs (gamma-ray, sonic, and density) and calculated geomechanical parameters.
The methodology was applied to a well in Blocks 01&02 of the Cuu Long basin, where five major sand bodies were subdivided into 15 distinct sub-intervals subject to log response variations. Results reveal substantial intra-sand-body heterogeneity: Sands 1 - 4 consistently exhibit high risk with measured values below critical thresholds, while Sand 5 overall appears low-medium risk. A detailed analysis of Sand 5 indentifies three distinct sub-intervals with dramatically different characteristics. Field validation confirmed prediction accuracy, with 600 psi depletion triggering sand production in the predicted intervals.
Based on these findings, active sand control measures are recommended for all high-risk intervals to ensure safe and sustainable production. The integrated multi-index approach provides enhanced reliability compared to single-criterion methods and can be readily applied to analogous geological settings with similar formation characteristics, offering a cost-effective alternative to extensive core testing programs.

An effective acid combination for improved acidizing treatment of sandstone formation: A case study in Bach Ho field, Vietnam

Hai Linh Luong — 2025-12-22

The acidizing treatment of near-wellbore regions in oil and gas reservoirs is a critical technique for enhancing permeability and boosting hydrocarbon recovery. However, the conventional hydrochloric acid (HCl)-based solutions often face challenges such as the formation of stable emulsions, secondary precipitation, and incompatibility with reservoir fluids. This study focuses on evaluating the performance of modified acid systems (CKP+ and GKP+) for acidizing sandstone formations in the Bach Ho field. The experiments aimed at assessing the efficiency of these acid systems in enhancing permeability, mitigating clay swelling, and preventing the formation of secondary precipitates. Experimental results, including shale stability tests, dissolution experiments on formation rock, and permeability recovery evaluations, indicated that the proposed chemical systems effectively reduced the skin factor, enhancing oil permeability and sustaining recovery rates. The addition of anti-emulsifying agents and clay stabilizers improved the acid systems' compatibility with crude oil, reducing emulsion formation. Furthermore, the modified acid systems showed promising results in preventing iron-related precipitation, a common issue with conventional acid systems. Simulations conducted using Schlumberger's Kinetix Matrix software demonstrated that the proposed acid treatments could efficiently remove formation damage, especially in Miocene and Oligocene reservoirs, where traditional treatments had limitations. Overall, the study suggests that the CKP+ and GKP+ systems provide a cost-effective solution for improving well productivity and sustaining long-term hydrocarbon recovery.

A comprehensive study on technological solutions for associated gas gathering, treatment, and utilization at offshore fields operated by Vietsovpetro

Viet Dung Le — 2025-12-22

In 1986, after nearly 5 years of exploration, Vietsovpetro successfully produced its first crude oil from the Bach Ho field, located in Block 09-1 of the Cuu Long basin on the Vietnamese continental shelf. This milestone marked a historic breakthrough for Vietnam’s petroleum industry, positioning the country among the oil-producing and exporting nations and laying the foundation for the development of the modern Vietnamese oil and gas sector.
In 1995, Vietsovpetro achieved another significant milestone by pioneering the gathering, treatment, and onshore transportation of associated gas through innovative technological solutions and engineering improvements, despite limited offshore infrastructure at the time. This initiative marked the second major leap in Vietnam’s petroleum industry and served as the technological and operational foundation for the subsequent establishment and growth of the Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV GAS).
This article presents the key technical highlights of a cluster of projects on associated gas gathering and utilization implemented by Vietsovpetro at offshore fields in Block 09-1 and adjacent offshore fields.

Improving FDP decisions under sparse data: An adaptive metropolis approach for net-pay quantiles

Xuan Phuc Pham — 2025-12-22

Early field-development decisions often rely on very small samples of reservoir property measurements, where common spreadsheet workflows (typically lognormal fits) become fragile and analyst-dependent. This paper presents the Metropolis-Adaptive Distribution Range-Constrained (M-ADRC) method, a practical Metropolis-Hastings (MH) approach with adaptive constraints for generating representative synthetic populations from low number of observations. The workflow combines (i) domain-informed parameter bounds, (ii) adaptive proposal tuning, (iii) automatic switching between Pearson Type III and lognormal distribution families, and (iv) adaptive iteration policy for samples with extreme bias.
Using a Southeast Asia gas field netpay dataset, the representative population generated by M-ADRC is benchmarked against the traditional lognormal spreadsheet approach across diverse net pay samples. Results show that M-ADRC achieves significantly lower Wasserstein Distance and smaller Swanson’s mean error, reaching the “excellent” Wasserstein threshold with roughly eight samples, only half the sample requirement of the spreadsheet approach.
The workflow is lightweight, fully open-source, and requires no specialized hardware. It includes default settings, diagnostic checks, and sensitivity results, enabling reservoir engineers to apply M-ADRC without specialized tuning expertise. M-ADRC yields more reliable small-sample quantiles, reducing the risk of biased inputs in FDP scenarios and enhancing decision confidence. Workflow limitations such as restricted distribution types, resilience to extreme sampling bias, and the lack of geospatial properties will be addressed in future work.

Experiment simulating the washed-out behavior of alkylphenols during waterflooding

Thi Thu Huong Huynh — 2025-12-22

The contact of injection water and crude oil during the water injection process leads to the leaching of water-soluble phenolic compounds available in oil composition. The rate of decline in alkylphenol concentration in the injection water due to leaching depends on many factors related to the oil - water partition coefficient, oil saturation, interstitial velocity of phases, and dispersion coefficient.
This paper presents an experimental study combined with an analytical model to evaluate the relationship between washed-out rate and partition coefficients of some short-chain alkylphenols during oil - water interaction. The water - oil displacement experiment was carried out on a column packing glass beads, in which the packed column was initially saturated with Su Tu Nau crude oil at a temperature of 40^oC. Our research results show that in a given flow regime the washed-out rate of alkylphenols differentiates from each other mainly due to the partition coefficient, thereby suggesting the possibility of using alkylphenols as a tracer to determine residual oil saturation in the sweeping area of the injection water.

Increasing the flash point temperature of DCO oil products to meet the FO (FP) baseline standard of Dung Quat refinery

Hoang Tri Nguyen — 2025-12-22

The flash point temperature of decanted oil (DCO) has been consistently low since the Dung Quat refinery commenced operations in 2009. This issue is attributed to the absorption of trace amounts of light gases such as H2, CH4, and C2H6 by the liquid stream at the bottom of the tower. These gases cannot be effectively separated through distillation at T-1501, and neither modifications to hardware nor adjustments to the angle of the fifth packing layer have proven effective. The separation of these light gases can only be achieved by applying the stripping method to the DCO product stream emanating from the bottom of the tower and at D-1515. This method must ensure no alterations to existing hardware and utilize current equipment solely. The technique involves injecting N2 directly into the liquid drum to remove light gases by reducing the partial pressure of hydrocarbons. This solution successfully increased the DCO flash point temperature from 49°C to 84°C in July 2018, and has been maintained to date. Furthermore, the flash point temperature can be regulated by the N2 stream to exceed 100°C, thereby meeting and surpassing the technical requirement of 66°C.

Conversion of sustainable agricultural residues into MCC for PLA-based biodegradable plastic applications

Thi Thu Ha Vu — 2025-12-22

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was extracted from cassava stems, banana pseudostems, pineapple leaves, and spent coffee grounds through an optimized acid hydrolysis process. Comprehensive structural, morphological, and thermal characterization revealed distinct differences among sources, with cassava stem-derived MCC identified as the most feasible and sustainable option due to its high crystallinity, uniform particle size, processing stability, ready availability, and large-scale supplypotential. This MCC was incorporated into thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polylactic acid (PLA) matrices to fabricate fully biodegradable composites. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the preservation of MCC crystalline structure, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed homogeneous dispersion within the TPS phase, and thermogravimetric/differential thermal analyses (TGA/DTA) demonstrated improved thermal stability. Mechanical testing showed that the optimized PLA:MCC:TPS ratio of 70:4.5:25.5 (with 15% MCC relative to (MCC/TPS)) provided the best balance between tensile strength, modulus, and biodegradability.These composites exhibited mechanical strength for sustainable packaging and food service applications while maintaining full compostability. Overall, the results highlight cassava stems as a sustainable, locally available MCC source and confirm that PLA/(MCC/TPS) composites can replace petrochemical-based plastics in targeted sectors, contributing to global energy transition strategies and CO2 emission reduction targets.

Urban motorcycle exhaust emissions in Vietnam: Status and technical solutions

Vu Anh Phan — 2025-12-22

Vietnam's major cities experience severe air pollution with Hanoi recording PM2.5 concentration of approximately 45 µg/m³, nearly 9 times higher than the WHO guideline value. This situation is driven by 77 million motorcycles, of which 70% are over 10 years old and 94% lack emission control systems. Motorcycles account for about 76% of urban CO, 68% of HC, and 54% of NOx. The transition toward electric vehicles faces critical challenges, including 10 - 15 years of infrastructure development versus an 18-month policy deadline, battery production emissions (60 - 100 kg CO2/kWh), and coal-thermal electricity transferring pollution. This paper analyzes emission control technologies and reveals that electronic fuel injection and E10 achieve only 30 - 40% reductions while increasing NOx, whereas three- way catalytic converters demonstrate more than 85% reduction across all pollutants at significantly lower cost than immediate electric vehicle conversion. A two-phase framework is proposed: i) immediate retrofitting (2025 - 2028) supported by clean fuel supply and gas power expansion, and ii) a systematic transition (2028 - 2040) enabled by diversified clean energy infrastructure, metro networks, and green hydrogen ecosystem. Throughout both phases, coordination with the petroleum sector is emphasized to ensure energy security during the transformation.

Assessment of the greenhouse gas and sulfur dioxide emission reductions resulting from the transition of gasoline and diesel in Vietnam

Dinh Son Tho Van — 2025-12-22

Vietnam has committed to a national voluntary emission reduction target of 15.8% by 2030 relative to the 2014 baseline, with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Currently, 48 million motorbikes and 2.4 million cars are registered nationwide.
Domestic market supplies gasoline and diesel in Grades II, III and V, which differ in their sulfur content. In 2023, total gasoline and diesel consumption reached 15.8 million tons, resulting in the emission of 50 million tons of GHG and 9,800 tons of SO2. In response, the government issued Decision No. 876/QĐ-TTg to gradually transition the transport sector toward cleaner, greener fuels or electricity, targeting Vietnam’s net-zero by 2050. In this paper, the 2030 scenario, which involves switching to ethanol fuel and transitioning gasoline engines to electric vehicles, will be considered and discussed as a strategy to reduce both GHG and SO2 emissions. The results will be compared to the commitment of the Government.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Petrovietnam to focus on implementing "6 pioneering priorities" and core business

Ha Trang — 2025-12-26

On December 26, 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and delivered directives at the conference reviewing the 2025 production and business performance and outlining the 2026 plan of the Vietnam National Industry - Energy Group (Petrovietnam), and presented the Decision appointing the Chairman of Petrovietnam’s Board of Directors.

Also attending the conference were Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Vu Hong Thanh, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung, Acting Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung, and representatives of ministries, sectors, and localities.

Total revenue exceeds 1,100 quadrillion VND, equivalent to 9-10% of GDP

In his directives at the Conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Petrovietnam is a leading state economic group with a pioneering role in driving industrial development, promoting energy transition, green growth, digital growth, and deep international integration.

The Prime Minister recalled the directive speech of General Secretary To Lam at Petrovietnam's 50th anniversary ceremony, affirming that the Group has made vital contributions to macroeconomic stability, national energy security, safeguarding the “lifeblood” of society, and protecting regime security during challenging periods amid global political volatility. He highly commended Petrovietnam’s role in ensuring “Five Securities” - energy security, economic security, food security, national defence and security, and social welfare - as well as its “Five Firsts” achievements: the largest scale, the highest contributions to the state budget, the highest profits, the most science‑and‑technology awards, and the most extensive social welfare activities. General Secretary To Lam also conferred upon Petrovietnam the motto: Pioneering - Outstanding - Sustainable - Global.

According to the Prime Minister, Petrovietnam has demonstrated extraordinary efforts, acted decisively, and continuously promoted innovation and creativity, achieving significant results reflected in eight themes: (1) Unified will; (2) Warrior spirit; (3) Comprehensive achievements; (4) Innovative mindset; (5) Deep integration; (6) Smart governance; (7) Strong humanistic values; (8) Value diffusion.

With the principle "One team - One goal," the Group has continuously fostered solidarity, unity, and a shared will and sense of action to contribute to Petrovietnam’s sustained development. Petrovietnam has demonstrated a steadfast warrior spirit in overcoming challenges, successfully executed restructuring, revitalized organizational morale, restored confidence, and spread a strong aspiration for growth.

The Prime Minister highly commended Petrovietnam for completing and exceeding all targets under its 2025 production and business plan and the 2021-2025 five-year plan, achieving outstanding and breakthrough growth. Notably, Petrovietnam recorded the 4th consecutive year of record-high total revenue; state budget contribution in 2025 reached nearly VND 166 trillion, exceeding the plan by more than 80%; the Group continued to rank as the most profitable state-owned enterprise (SOE) nationwide. Total investment disbursement in 2025 reached VND 51.4 trillion, up nearly 44% year-on-year. Total oil production increased by 0.8% compared to 2024 after 11 consecutive years of decline. Power generation rose by 7.3% year-on-year, and fuel production increased by 17.6% year-on-year. Increased oil and gas reserves totaled 14.5 million tons of oil equivalent, exceeding 11.5% compared to the 2025 plan. In 2025, consolidated total assets were estimated at nearly VND 1,2 quadrillion, up 40% from 2020, accounting for ~33% of total SOE assets; consolidated equity was estimated to reach nearly VND 587 trillion, up 27% compared to 2020, representing about 32.4% of total SOE equity.

By proactively and actively reframing its mindset and daring to act, Petrovietnam has gradually resolved long‑standing bottlenecks in critical projects - bringing the Thai Binh 2 Thermal Power Plant into safe, efficient operation, restarting the Block B gas project, and restructuring the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical complex...

Petrovietnam has continuously enhanced operational efficiency, taken a pioneering role in developing alternative energies, and gradually strengthened its participation in the global energy value chain. Revenue from international business expansion in 2025 exceeded VND144.6 trillion, up 56% year-on-year versus 2024.

Petrovietnam has implemented smart governance, gradually establishing itself as a benchmark model for governance and administration among groups, corporations, and state-owned enterprises.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated Petrovietnam for demonstrating its pioneering mission in fulfilling responsibilities to the community, with total contribution to social welfare during the recent term exceeding VND 5,100 billion (of which more than VND 1,500 billion was contributed in 2025), representing an increase of 75% compared to the previous term.

In terms of value diffusion, during the 2021-2025 period, Petrovietnam commenced construction and put into operation 50 major projects with a total investment value of VND 561 trillion, creating strong momentum for economic growth. In 2024, Petrovietnam was ranked 11th by Fortune in the Top 500 enterprises in Southeast Asia, ranked 5th in the region in the energy sector, and recognized as the largest enterprise in Vietnam. In 2025, Petrovietnam ranked 2nd in the Top 500 largest enterprises in Vietnam.

The Prime Minister stated that the results achieved by Petrovietnam carry particularly significant meaning: affirming the Group's pioneering and leading mission; reinforcing confidence and the strength of solidarity and unity; demonstrating strength, stature, and maturity; building trust and spreading positive momentum; reflecting aspirations, resilience, wisdom, the spirit of self-reliance and self-strengthening, along with a strong determination to overcome difficulties - guided by the spirit of "turning nothing into something, turning difficulty into ease, turning the impossible into possible," and "what is said must be done, what is committed must be implemented, what is implemented must deliver specific, quantifiable, and measurable results". The Prime Minister also underscored that these achievements demonstrate the soundness of personnel work "selecting the right people, assigning the right tasks".

Focusing on "six pioneering priorities" and core business

The year 2026 holds particular significance as the first year of implementing the Resolution of the 14th Party Congress and the 2026 - 2030 five-year socio-economic development plan, with the goal of achieving double-digit economic growth, creating a solid foundation to realize the "two centennial strategic goals," leading the country steadily into a new era.

Drawing on lessons learned from practice, the Prime Minister especially emphasized the importance of focusing on and making breakthroughs in core strategic areas, while ensuring the development in line with global trends.

The Prime Minister called on Petrovietnam to fully leverage its pioneering and pillar role in implementing the 14th Party Congress Resolution; strive to achieve double-digit growth; deepen participation in value chains; build an ecosystem for the development of the oil and gas industry, thereby creating favorable conditions for the growth of other industries and enabling other groups to grow stronger together. The Prime Minister requested Petrovietnam to implement "6 pioneering priorities", including:

First, Petrovietnam takes the lead in proposing initiatives and contributing to the improvement of institutional frameworks, as well as the development and refinement of mechanisms and policies.

Second, Petrovietnam takes the lead in applying science and technology, advancing digital transformation and green transformation, developing data infrastructure, applying artificial intelligence, and accelerating energy transition (renewable energy, hydrogen, LNG, nuclear power, offshore wind power...).

Third, Petrovietnam takes the lead in synchronously implementing solutions to modernize and smarten governance models; restructuring, optimizing production and business performance and resource utilization; proactively and flexibly responding to market volatility; and strengthening its capability to act as an EPC general contractor for large-scale energy projects.

Fourth, Petrovietnam takes the lead in international integration, participating in global supply chains and value chains; developing ecosystems not only in Vietnam but also worldwide, guided by the spirit of "solidarity for strength, cooperation for mutual benefit, and dialogue to consolidate trust".

Fifth, Petrovietnam takes the lead in innovating mindsets and approaches, boldly confronting difficulties and challenges, and acting decisively and effectively.

Sixth, Petrovietnam takes the lead in practicing thrift, preventing and combating wastefulness and misconduct, ensuring openness and transparency, guided by the spirit of "Three Benefits" - benefiting the country, the people, and the enterprises — and "Two Nos" - no personal motives, corruption, or misconduct, and no loss or waste of state assets. The Prime Minister underscored the primacy of prevention in anti‑corruption efforts, prioritizing prevention as fundamental, strategic, long-term, and decisive, while treating enforcement as critical and breakthroughs; minor violations must not be allowed to accumulate into major shortcomings and serious violations.

Regarding recommendations and proposals raised at the Conference, the Prime Minister requested relevant ministries and agencies - within their assigned functions, tasks, authorities, and relevant legal provisions - to promptly address them at the earliest possible time; matters beyond their authority are to be reported to the competent authorities.

The Prime Minister requested Petrovietnam to continue promoting its pioneering role with warrior spirit, acting with "far-sighted vision, deep thinking and bold action, speaking less and doing more, matching words with deeds, using effectiveness as the measure, and humanity as an overarching value." The Government and the Prime Minister will always accompany and support the Group in fulfilling its pioneering mission.

With the motto "Innovating mindset - Pioneering technology - Energy security - Green and digital transition - Value creation - Elevating position - Breakthrough integration - Sustainable growth", the Prime Minister expressed confidence that Petrovietnam, entering 2026 with a new mentality, fresh motivation, together with strong development aspirations and a spirit of solidarity and innovation, will achieve its set goals and make significant contributions to the country's economic growth objectives.

In response to the Prime Minister's directives, the new Chairman of Petrovietnam’s Board of Directors Le Ngoc Son affirmed that the Group will not merely stop at planning, but will promptly translate it into decisive action programs with clear focus and priorities.

Accordingly, Petrovietnam focuses on building a comprehensively strong Party organization; effectively organizing and implementing action programs to realize resolutions of Party congresses at all levels; strictly implementing the Conclusions of the Politburo; and continuing to improve regulations and provisions on organizational work, personnel, inspection, supervision, and Party discipline, thereby ensuring the Party's absolute and comprehensive leadership over all activities of Petrovietnam.

The Group will focus on finalizing and implementing the Strategic Development Portfolio for Petrovietnam/its sectors and units until 2030, with a vision to 2050, closely linked with the 2026 production and business plan; striving to sustain double-digit growth, and to consolidate its position as a leading economic group and national pillar enterprise of the economy. At the same time, Petrovietnam will continue to improve the institutional framework and governance models; advance restructuring; accelerate digital transformation and science and technology application, develop strategic human resources and strengthen talent management; and build a modern, transparent governance system that meets international standards.

Petrovietnam will focus on implementing solutions for production and business development, investment, and finance: increasing reserves, maintaining and improving production output across all operational areas; effectively managing cash flow, capital, and assets; restoring and improving the performance of projects and units facing difficulties; and ensuring energy security in conjunction with energy transition and green growth.

The Group continues to promote science and technology, innovation, and energy transition, while elevating Petrovietnam's culture as a foundation for sustainable development. At the same time, the Group will actively fulfill its social responsibilities, spreads the culture of gratitude and appreciation, thereby affirming Petrovietnam as a "national enterprise" that consistently accompanies the country’s nation-building and defense.