(VOVworld) - A ceremony was held in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday to receive the first oil flow from the Su Tu Nau (Brown Lion) oil field in Block 15.1 in the Cuu Long Basin offshore the southern region. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai attended the ceremony and presented the oil field’s operator – the Cuu Long Joint Operating Company with the Labour Order, second and third class. The Deputy PM highlighted the significance of the event, which he described as a new step forward of Vietnam’s oil and gas sector: “The Cuu Long Joint Operating Company has started the operation of the Yellow and Brown Lion oil fields earlier than schedule. This will generate an additional half a million ton to the annual productivity of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, raising the total output to beyond one million ton of crude oil. This is an important contribution to the national economy.”