Repsol, jointly with the companies Unocal and Moeco, has discovered gas in Vietnam at its B-KL-1X well, in the off-shore area of the Malaya Basin. Production tests gave a combined flow of 52.9 million cubic feet of gas per day.

Repsol has a 30% stake in the exploration of block B, where its partners are Moeco, with 25%, and Unocal, a well established company with wide experience in the south east of Asia, which has a 45% holding, and is operator. The State oil firm Petro Vietnam holds an option to purchase up to 15%, in which case other shareholders would proportionally reduce their stake, and Repsol would then be left with a 25.5% interest.

Block B covers an extension of 5,263 km², in which other areas of exploratory interest have been identified. A second well called B-Kq-1X has been started in another prospecting area. During the exploration period, it is also planned to collect additional seismic information (seismic 3D) and to drill appraisal wells on this current discovery.

In May, 1996, Repsol signed a Production Sharing Agreement to explore and produce hydrocarbons in block B, on the Vietnamese off-shore continental shelf, in the Malaya Basin, in the Gulf of Thailand.

Repsol�s participation in exploration and production activities in south east Asia date back to the 1980�s, when it acquired reserves and mining acreage in the N.W. Java and S.E. Sumatra blocks, on the coastal shelf of Indonesia. Our company is one of the country�s main producers, with an output of 17,000 barrels per day, and its presence has increased in recent years. The economic growth of Vietnam and other countries in the area makes prospects excellent for an expanding energy market.