The news was shared on Monday by the Japanese offshore drilling contractor JDC, which said Rosneft had started the drilling operation on Sunday, May 12, offshore Vung Tau, Vietnam.

JDC said that Rosneft was using its semi-submersible drilling rig HAKURYU-5 for the drilling operation. The offshore driller did not provide further info on Rosneft’s drilling operation.

According to data on Rosneft’s website, the Russian oil company is engaged in gas and condensate production projects on two offshore Vietnam blocks Block 06.1 and Block 05.3/11, and is also a participant of The Nam Con Son Pipeline project.

As for the rig being used by Rosneft, the Hakuryu-5 is a twin lower hull, column stabilized, propulsion-assisted semi-submersible drilling rig built in 1977 at Mitsubishi Hiroshima Shipyard.

In 2009, lower-hull was upgraded by installing “deep dish” for life enhancement, structural improvement, and increase of variable load. In 2014, the accommodation was upgraded for 150 persons, deck cranes were replaced with new ones with larger capacities, and main drilling & ship service equipment was renewed.

Apart from the Rosneft contract, the rig has recently won a contract with Indonesia’s Medco. This contract is expected to begin around July – August, 2019. The deal is for two firm wells which are expected to take 123 days. Medco will have 2 option wells to extend the drilling contract, which should extend the deal for about 98 days.