Serica Energy plc has been conditionally awarded Block 06/94 in the Nam Con Son Basin offshore south Vietnam. Serica and its two partners, Lundin Petroleum and Pearl Energy, will each have a 33.33% interest in the Block, which covers an area of around 4100 square kilometers and will be operated by Pearl.

Block 06/94 lies approximately 350 kilometres offshore and is the part of Block 06/1 which British Petroleum was obliged to relinquish in 1994 after retaining the 2 trillion cubic feet Lan Tay and Lan Do gas fields for development. The Lan Do gas field commenced gas production in 2002 through a pipeline to Vung Tau, near Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).

Chris Atkinson, Chief Operating Officer, commented:

'This exciting new project offshore Vietnam is the first step in the expansion of our interests in South East Asia and has been made possible by the introduction of new technical expertise into Serica and through the synergies in our partnership with Pearl and Lundin. Block 06/94 is a highly prospective area surrounding the Lan Tay and Lan Do gas fields and we hope to identify several potentially commercial prospects within the Block.'