LNG

Vietnam has approved its latest power development plan with liquefied natural gas imports and pipeline natural gas at its centre, while also including some renewables and reduced coal-fired electricity generation.

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.

PetroVietnam has signed an agreement with US company AES Corp to form a joint venture for a $1.3 billion liquefied natural gas import terminal linked to a power project at Son My in Binh Thuan province of Vietnam.

PetroVietnam’s natural gas subsidiary, PetroVietnam Gas, said the terminal would import around 3.6 million tonnes per annum of LNG cargoes to the Asian nation by 2025.

“The signing took place in New York City and was one of the main activities on the sidelines on the occasion of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's participation in the joint discussions session of the 76th United Nations General Assembly,” said a statement from PetroVietnam.

The AES-PetroVietnam LNG signing ceremony was attended by Vietnamese state leaders, including the President himself, who made a speech, as well as Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Industry, and Trade and Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Minister of Construction.

The AES LNG-for-power project in Vietnam was first discussed at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in October 2020, attended by the then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

AES, based in Arlington, Virginia, is an experienced LNG industry participant, having set up LNG imports for the Dominican Republic way back in 2003 with the import 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.

The President said in his speech that this was a project that had received the attention of the two states of Vietnam and the United States, leading to the establishment of the joint venture, Son My LNG.

“I hope that the construction of the Son My LNG Terminal will contribute to ensuring the supply of LNG for our power generation needs in key economic regions,” he stated.

PetroVietnam executives also attended, including Chairman Hoang Quoc Vuong and Duong Manh Son, General Director of PetroVietnam Gas.

On the AES side were Bernerd Da Santos, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, David Stone, President of AES Vietnam, Joe Uddo, Vice President of AES Market Development and Gaelle Burkhart, AES Global Cooperation Director.

Speaking for AES, COO Da Santos expressed his sincere appreciation of his company’s relationship with PetroVietnam.

“We thank the Government and all the ministries and especially the attention and direction given to the project by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his attendance at this event,” said Da Santos

“The signatories of the Agreement promise to be determined in developing the joint venture so that the Son My LNG can start operating as a development company in November 2021,” added Da Santos.

PetroVietnam executives have held talks with Russian natural gas company Gazprom to discuss limited Vietnamese offshore gas production and the progress of liquefied natural gas projects in the Southeast Asian nation that is still without LNG imports or infrastructure.