Oil in difficult years for the country
On June 26, 1986, at the Bach Ho field, the Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Vietsovpetro, a member unit of the Vietnam National Group of Industry and Energy (Petrovietnam), officially exploited the first commercial oil line. This event marked the birth of the offshore oil and gas exploitation industry in Vietnam, bringing the country into the group of countries capable of exploiting and exporting crude oil.
This event marked the birth of the offshore oil and gas exploitation industry in Vietnam, bringing Vietnam into the group of countries with the ability to exploit and export crude oil.
From the perspective of someone who directly participated in the first drilled wells in Bach Ho, Mr. Tran Hoi - former Deputy General Director of Geology of Vietsovpetro said that the first oil flow in 1986 was the result of a strategic decision: to put the Bach Ho field into early exploitation.
Just over a year after the BH-5 well tested the spillway for industrial oil, the MSP-1 fixed rig put the first mining well into operation on June 26, 1986. With technical conditions, infrastructure and offshore mining experience still very limited at that time, this deployment speed was of particular importance.
Sharing more about the historical significance of this event, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh recalled: At that time, I worked at the Construction Bank and realized a very important thing: the first oil flow from Bach Ho opened up a source of foreign currency for the country.
When Vietnam almost did not have many economic sectors that could create a stable and large-scale USD flow, revenue from crude oil helped us have conditions to import machinery, equipment, and materials for production, maintain international payment capacity, maintain national credit reputation and create resources for strategic infrastructure projects, including the 500 kV North-South line.
More importantly, the initial successes at Bach Ho have built the belief that Vietnam can master a modern industry, effectively cooperate internationally and gradually integrate deeply into the world economy with its own capabilities.
The turning point from the foundation stone layer
If the first oil flow in 1986 marked the birth of the offshore oil and gas exploitation industry in Vietnam, then the discovery and successful exploitation of oil in the cracked granite base layer at the Bach Ho field created a turning point of international stature.
On September 6, 1988, the first commercial oil flow from the baseline rock was successfully exploited at Bach Ho. This achievement fundamentally changed scientific awareness of oil and gas exploration, exploration and exploitation not only in Vietnam but also attracted the attention of international experts. Since then, Bach Ho has been associated with the concept of "oil and gas wonder in the baseline rock", a special geological case of the world.
Oil discoveries in bedrock have significantly expanded oil and gas prospects on the Vietnamese continental shelf. Many oil fields in bedrock objects were later discovered and put into exploitation, contributing to the strong development phase of Vietnam's Oil and Gas industry. At Bach Ho field alone, about 80% of oil production comes from the bedrock layer.
By June 4, 2026, Vietsovpetro had accumulated about 255 million tons of oil from Block 09-1, of which the Bach Ho field played a key role. From 1995 to now, more than 60 billion m3 of companion gas has been brought ashore to serve economic development, while the total contribution to the state budget reached nearly 60 billion USD.
These figures reflect the special role of Bach Ho in the development of Petrovietnam and the important contributions of the oil and gas industry to the country's economy over the past four decades.
However, the value of Bach Ho is not only measured by oil production. From this oil field, Vietnam's oil and gas industry has gradually formed a team of technical staff, accumulated management experience, mastered technology and built capacity to synchronously deploy the entire offshore oil and gas operation chain.
Vietnamese oil and gas workers are increasingly deeply involved in core areas such as drilling, building and installing marine works, installing exploitation rigs, constructing pipelines, operating exploitation and handling complex technical situations at sea.
Chairman of Petrovietnam's Member Council Le Ngoc Son, when talking about the meaning of this event, affirmed that Bach Ho is not just an oil field, it is the place where Vietnam's offshore oil and gas industry capacity is formed. From that first oil flow, Petrovietnam has gradually gone from a young industry to a national industrial - energy corporation, with a complete ecosystem and value chain from oil and gas, gas, electricity, refining and petrochemicals to technical services.
Therefore, keeping the fire of Bach Ho heritage is not repeating old achievements. That is to maintain the spirit of daring to take on difficult tasks, master technology and take responsibility to the end; from that foundation, Petrovietnam must continue to create new capabilities for the future of national energy" - Chairman of Petrovietnam Member Council Le Ngoc Son said.
