LNG

PetroVietnam Gas said it was making progress with plans to raise investments for infrastructure for importing, storing and distributing liquefied natural gas nationwide and the start-up of LNG imports is just a year away .

A board meeting of PV Gas said that each region of the southeast Asian nation would have one of three proposed LNG hubs.

These are the Thi Vai LNG storage and regasification terminal in the South, the Son My LNG storage and regas facility in the central region and a large storage and regas hub icovering Quang Ninh, Hai Phong and Thanh Hoa in the North.

PV Gas said the aim was to begin importing LNG cargoes by 2022 as the company explained that its own domestic natural gas production has declined.

The state-owned energy firm said that currently, there was a focus on the construction of an import terminal and storage with a capacity of one million tonnes of LNG per annum in Thi Vai. PV Gas said the Thi Vai LNG project is about 90 percent complete.

“It is expected to be put into operation in the third quarter of 2022 and other infrastucture, including an LNG jetty for tankers in Thi Vai, are also being worked on,” said PV Gas in a statement.

The company said it was focusing on preparing short and medium-term LNG import agreements.

US agreement

PV GAS and US-based AES Corp, have a joint venture agreement on the establishment and operation of the central region’s Son My LNG port and storage hub.

PetroVietnam signed an agreement with AES in September 2021 to form a joint venture for a $1.3Bln LNG terminal linked to a power project at Son My, located in Binh Thuan province.

AES, based in Arlington, Virginia, is an experienced LNG industry participant, having set up Caribbean LNG imports for the Dominican Republic way back in 2003 with the facility at Punta Caucedo operated by its subsidiary AES Andres.

AES was also behind the debut of Panama as an LNG importer with its Costa Norte project in operation since 2018.

Vietnam is developing up to six LNG import projects backed by power plant developments along its coast from the northern port of Haiphong to the ports in the South.

PV Gas, whose headquarters are in Ho Chi Minh City, became one of several Vietnamese businesses with a market capitalisation approaching US$10 billion as the stock price has risen by 48 percent since the beginning of 2021.

It hit a record at 125,000 Vietnamese dong per share in October.

However, the shares have since dropped to 118,900 dong per share, giving the company a current market capitalization of 22,605 trillion dong (US$8.72Bln).

In the last quarter, PV Gas posted consolidated profits after tax of 2.46 trillion dong ($95.3 million).

There are two official stock exchanges in Vietnam, one called the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the second is the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

Securities of unlisted public companies may be registered to be traded on the regulated over-the-counter (OTC) market on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

The number of listings on each exchange is about 380 as of the start of 2021.

The Government has already approved a plan to set up the Vietnam Stock Exchange (VSE) based on the consolidation of the HOSE and the HNX.

The VSE will be a 100 percent state-owned limited liability company.

Italian energy company Eni has strengthened its presence in future LNG importer Vietnam through the acquisition of Block 115, located in the Song Hong basin and the nearby Ken Bau natural gas and condensate discovery.

Eni acquired a 100 percent interest in the Block from Krisenergy, an independent upstream company focused on the production and development of oil and gas in the basins of Southeast Asia.

“The acquired Block is adjacent to Block 114 where the operator Eni Vietnam and its partner Essar Exploration and Production Limited have recently announced the Ken Bau gas and condensate discovery currently under appraisal,” explained Eni.

Milan-based Eni said the new acreage also borders Block 116, operated by Eni Vietnam with a 100 percent participating interest.

The Block covers an area of 7,382 square kilometres with a water depth ranging from 90 metres to 1,000 metres.

“Eni's presence in the country is further strengthened with this acquisition, consolidating its position in the recently discovered Ken Bau play, in line with the strategy of expanding  its gas portfolio in the Far East,” said Eni.

Eni has been present in Vietnam since 2013, and currently operates five blocks all located in the under-explored Song Hong and Phu Khanh basins.

Vietnam is currently developing about half-a-dozen LNG and power projects with overseas partners to try and keep pace with future energy needs to enable its economic expansion.

The leading LNG import projects include the Quang Ninh LNG-for-power venture owned by a partnership comprising PetroVietnam, Tokyo Gas and Marubeni Corp.

Vietnam is also developing another terminal involving US major ExxonMobil Corp. at the port city of Haiphong.

Another Vietnamese LNG-for-power venture is being developed by Singapore-based company Delta Offshore Energy and partners in Bac Lieu province in the Mekong Delta of south Vietnam.

Other ventures are planned for Ninh Thuan province, south of Cam Ranh Bay, and at Long An, also on the Mekong Delta. 

Marubeni Corp. is pushing forward its LNG import project and power plans in Vietnam with partner Tokyo Gas as it signed an agreement for the first phase of a large regional development project consisting of an industrial park and other facilities in Quang Ninh Province in the bay area northeast of Hanoi.