LNG

A consortium led by South Korea’s SK Innovation, Vietnam’s PV Power, and Japan’s NASU has broken ground on a $2.3 billion LNG-to-power project in Vietnam. The Quynh Lap project will have a power generation capacity of 1,500 MW, fuelled by imported LNG.

Investors are seeking better incentives for integrated LNG and power projects in Vietnam as guaranteed electricity offtake levels are still too low to make projects break even. Developers said Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with 25-year tenures or a higher minimum offtake level, ideally 85-90%, would help secure predictable cash flows and attract international lenders.

GE Vernova has announced the commercial start-up of Vietnam’s first 9HA-turbine driven combined-cycle power plant, Nhon Trach 3&4. Operated by PV Power, these two plants are Vietnam’s first LNG-fuelled unit, helping to accelerate the coal-to-gas transition of the power sector.

Nhon Trach 3&4, Vietnam’s first two LNG-fired power plants were inaugurated on Sunday. The US$1.4 billion, 1.6 GW project secured US$1.1 billion in financing – without state guarantees.

Nhon Trach Unit 4 — one of two units at Vietnam’s first LNG-fired power plant — is scheduled to begin commercial operations on December 20. PetroVietnam invested an estimated $1.4 billion in the twin units, which have a combined capacity of 1,620 MW.

PetroVietnam has begun construction of the VND27.7 trillion ($1.05 billion) O Mon IV power plant in the Mekong Delta. LNG imports – through terminals in Thi Vai and potentially Son My – could serve as backup feedstock to ensure project timelines for the 1.1 GW plant, given that domestic fuel supply from Block B is delayed.

PetroVietnam Power is preparing to start up the Nhon Trach 3 power plant in the third quarter of 2025, while Nhon Trach 4 is scheduled to start commercial operations by the end of this year. Capital expenditure (CAPEX) for developing the two LNG-fuelled power plants comes to US$ 1.4 billion, financed under a 75:25 debt vs equity ratio.

PetroVietnam Power has synchronized its 1,500 MW Nhon Trach 4 power plant – the country’s first plant running on imported LNG, sourced through the nearby Thi Vai LNG regas terminal. Nhon Trach 4 delivered 50 MW in its initial grid connection, with full commercial operations due by November.

PV Gas, part of PetroVietnam, has agreed with state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to deliver LNG from Vung Ang regas terminal to the Quang Trach II power project. Unit II had been a 1.2 GW coal-fired power plant repurposed into an LNG-fuelled unit – in line with Vietnam’s 8^th national power development plan.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation has accorded and underwritten loans of more than $800M for a natural gas field, gas pipelines and power projects in Vietnam.