Analysis and modelling of Geological Basins in Vietnam – GEUS1 – Phase 2

project summary

Oil and gas constitute an important sector in Vietnamese society. About 20 per cent of national revenue is generated by oil and gas and this sector employs many Vietnamese. In 2005, GEUS started phase 2 of a cooperation project between GEUS and the Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI), aiming at enhancing Vietnam's ability to assess its oil and gas resources. The Vietnamese researchers were trained in oil-geological disciplines through teaching and participation in a concrete research project with the purpose of understanding the geological development and the potential for finding oil and gas in the Malay – Tho Chu Basin. This included drilling of a 504 m deep ENRECA-2 borehole on the island Phu Quoc contributing valuable information about the geology of the area. Phase 2 has not only aimed at capacity-building at VPI, but has also improved cooperation with universities in Vietnam and Denmark. With participation from teaching resources from the Department of Geography and Geology (DGG) at the University of Copenhagen, joint MSc/PhD programmes have been completed for nine younger researchers and students from VPI, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology (HUMG) and Hanoi University of Science (HUS). The programmes have also included introducing Vietnamese lecturers to modern teaching techniques such as those used at DGG. During the project the first geological expedition ever to the remote Nam Du Islands in the South China Sea was made. Vietnamese and Danish PhD students and their tutors carried out geological surveys contributing substantially to the understanding of the geology of south-western Vietnam. 2008 also saw further consolidation and expansion of the geological and geophysical databases as a result of the new data collections. In December 2008, the final project workshop was held in Hanoi and results of the research programme were presented to researchers, officials and politicians as well as representatives of the oil industry who are active in Vietnam.