胡志明市——越南沿海正涌现出新的油气项目。越南拥有东南亚最丰富的油气储量之一，日本和美国公司正与俄罗斯企业展开竞争，以抓住该国日益增长的需求，而中东地区的紧张局势更使这一需求持续攀升。
HO CHI MINH CITY -- New oil and gas projects are springing up off the coast of Vietnam, home to some of Southeast Asia's richest reserves, as Japanese and U.S. companies vie with Russian players to tap growing demand in the country that is being pushed even higher by Middle East tensions. About 350 kilometers off the coast of southern Vietnam in the South China Sea sits the central processing platform of the Sao Vang-Dai Nguyet gas field, operated by Japan's Idemitsu Kosan.
在越南南部沿海约350公里处的南海，坐落着由日本出光兴产公司运营的“Sao Vang-Dai Nguyet”气田中央处理平台。
Total construction costs on the site, which contains a sprawling orange steel framework that dominates the seascape, exceeded 100 billion yen ($632 million).
该平台的总建设成本超过1000亿日元（合6.32亿美元），现场矗立着一个巨大的橙色钢架结构，成为海上的一道显著景观。
The gas field began production in 2020.
该气田于2020年开始投产。钻井深入海底，通过控制流量的井口每天开采约400万立方米天然气。目前已有7个井口投入运行。
Wells drilled deep beneath the seabed extract roughly 4 million cubic meters of gas per day through wellheads that regulate flow. Seven wellheads are in operation. The platform can accommodate five additional wellheads, leaving room for future drilling.
该平台还可容纳5个额外的井口，为未来钻井预留了空间。这些井为了寻找天然气储量，往往需要钻至地下数千米深，单口钻井成本通常超过100亿日元。
The wells, which reach several thousand meters underground in search of gas reserves, often cost more than 10 billion yen to drill. The central platform has seven wellheads in operation, which control the flow of gas extracted from the seabed.
中央平台目前运行着7个井口，用于控制从海底开采出的天然气流量。
"Typically, only three out of every 10 wells are successful," said an Idemitsu drilling engineer.
“通常，每10口井中只有3口能够成功，”出光公司的一名钻井工程师表示，“即使在这些成功的井中，许多也从未达到商业开采水平。”这片偏远的气田也是一个地缘政治的前沿地带，各国的利益在此交汇。该平台靠近中国单方面划定的南海“九段线”。
"Even among those successes, many never reach commercial production." The remote gas field is also a geopolitical frontier where national interests are colliding. The platform sits near China's "nine-dash line," a unilaterally asserted boundary claim in the South China Sea.
该平台的生产运营负责人Jamie McPherson表示，几乎每天都有可疑船只出现在附近。该平台还与周边的其他气田相连，以支持整体生产。
Jamie McPherson, head of production operations at the site, said suspicious vessels appear almost every day. The platform also connects to surrounding gas fields to support production.
气田开采的天然气通过管道输送至陆上的发电站和其他设施。如果全部用于发电，其产能相当于一个1吉瓦的核反应堆。
Gas produced at the field is transported by pipeline to power stations and other facilities onshore. If all of it were used for power generation, it would be equivalent to a 1 gigawatt nuclear reactor.
凝析油——一种超轻质原油副产品——在项目现场生产，在中东紧张局势加剧时，帮助维持了国营炼油厂的运营。该平台还处理附近区块的产出，使Sao Vang-Dai Nguyet成为越南能源安全的支柱。
Condensate -- an ultra-light crude oil byproduct -- produced at the site helped sustain operations at state-owned refineries when tensions in the Middle East worsened. The platform also processes output from nearby blocks, making Sao Vang-Dai Nguyet a pillar of Vietnam's energy security.
自20世纪90年代与西方关系正常化以来，越南启动了众多海上油气项目。但近年来许多成熟油田的产量有所下降，从而引发了一波新的开发浪潮。
Numerous offshore oil and gas projects were launched in Vietnam following the normalization of relations with the West in the 1990s. But production from many mature fields has declined in recent years, prompting a wave of new developments.
备受期待的一个项目是位于南部近海海域的Lac Da Vang油田，该项目由美国墨菲石油（Murphy Oil）和韩国SK集团支持。该油田预计将成为未来重要的原油来源。
One highly anticipated project is the Lac Da Vang oil field in southern offshore waters, backed by U.S.-based Murphy Oil and South Korea's SK Group. The field is expected to become an important future crude oil source.
埃克森美孚（ExxonMobil）正在主导越南中部岘港海岸外的Ca Voi Xanh气田的规划工作。尽管进展缓慢，但它预计将成为该国最大的气田之一。该平台的紧急救生艇可容纳多达80人的船员。
ExxonMobil is leading plans for the Ca Voi Xanh gas field off the coast of Da Nang in central Vietnam. Although progress has been slow, it is expected to become one of the country's largest gas fields. The platform's emergency lifeboats, accommodating a crew of up to 80 people.
在日企当中，泰国湾B区块天然气项目的生产最早有望于明年开始，综合商社三井物产旗下的三井石油开发公司在该区块持有权益。天然气将供应给由日本三井物产等商社支持的发电厂。
Among Japanese companies, production is expected to begin as early as next year at the Block B gas project in the Gulf of Thailand, where Mitsui Oil Exploration, a subsidiary of trading house Mitsui & Co., holds interests. The gas will be supplied to power plants backed by the likes of Japanese trading house Marubeni.
俄罗斯也保持着强劲的存在感。6月，越南副总理黎明恒会见了俄罗斯国家石油公司（Zarubezhneft）首席执行官谢尔盖·库德里亚绍夫（Sergei Kudryashov），并表达了对勘探、投资以及涵盖未开发海上区块的新合同的支持。
Russia also maintains a strong presence. In June, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung met Sergei Kudryashov, CEO of Russian state oil company Zarubezhneft, and voiced support for exploration, investment and new contracts covering undeveloped offshore blocks.
Zarubezhneft是越南海上能源领域的资深外国参与者，已在那里运营了四十多年。
Zarubezhneft is a veteran foreign player in Vietnam's offshore energy sector, having operated there for more than four decades.
开发活动的激增加剧了人才竞争。“一些员工甚至在工作时间就在办公室接听招聘电话，”一名出光公司的消息人士称，并补充说，尤其是美国公司正在利用高薪挖走经验丰富的员工。该平台开采的原油被储存在几公里外的一座浮式存储设施中。
The surge in development activity has intensified competition for talent. "Some employees even take recruiting calls in the office during work hours," a source at Idemitsu said, adding that U.S. companies in particular are using high salaries to poach experienced workers. Crude oil extracted by the platform is stored in a floating storage facility located several kilometers away.
对越南政府而言，海上资源开发是一项战略重点，旨在满足随经济增长而持续上升的能源需求。
For the Vietnamese government, offshore resource development is a strategic priority aimed at meeting energy demand that continues to grow alongside the economy.
该国传统上依赖丰富的水力发电以及国内生产的煤炭和天然气来发电。但矿山和天然气田产量的下降，使该国对能源进口的依赖程度持续增加。
The country has traditionally relied on abundant hydropower as well as domestically produced coal and natural gas for electricity generation. But declining output from mines and gas fields has steadily increased the country's dependence on energy imports.
燃煤发电厂约占越南电力结构的半数，而水力发电的贡献率略高于30%。其余电力则来自燃气发电、风能和太阳能。
Coal-fired plants account for roughly half of Vietnam's power mix, with hydropower contributing just over 30%. The remainder comes from gas-fired generation, wind power and solar energy.
政府计划将燃气发电在现有电力结构中的占比从不足10%提升至2030年的37吉瓦。因此，液化天然气（LNG）的进口量预计也将随之增加。
The government plans to expand gas-fired capacity from less than 10% of the current mix to as much as 37 GW by 2030. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are expected to rise as a result.
越南首座LNG发电厂已于今年1月投入商业运营。进口LNG容易受到价格波动和地缘政治冲击的影响——伊朗战争爆发后的市场动荡便证明了这一点——因此，与外国合作伙伴共同持续开发国内天然气资源，对于维持稳定的电力供应至关重要。
Vietnam's first LNG-fired power plant began commercial operations in January. Imported LNG is vulnerable to price fluctuations and geopolitical shocks -- evidenced by the volatility seen after the start of the Iran war -- making continued development of domestic gas resources with foreign partners essential to maintaining a stable electricity supply.
未来盈利能力可能面临挑战。许多尚未开发的资源被认为位于更深、更偏远的海域，这意味着开发新的海上区块可能需要比浅水区项目投入更多的资本。
Profitability may be a challenge moving forward. Many undeveloped reserves are believed to lie in deeper and more remote waters, meaning development of new offshore blocks is likely to require higher capital spending than shallower projects.