Page 7 - AsiaElec Week 37 2021

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

in 2020, according to BP’s Statistical Review of and managing director Ian Nguyen said.
World Energy. DOE awarded Bechtel a front-end engineer-
“Vietnam is currently conducting research, ing and design (FEED) contract for the CCGT in
searching for markets and accelerating con- July, after having signed a 25-year, $50bn power
struction of terminal infrastructure to be ready purchase agreement (PPA) with the Vietnamese
to receive and import LNG,” the minister said. government in January.
Highlighting the government’s approval of the South Korean financial daily Pulse reported
Son My LNG import terminal, Dien said the on September 6 that a consortium of South
government was considering “many other pro- Korean utility suppliers was poised to win a
jects proposed by foreign enterprises”. KRW5.5 trillion ($4.25bn) contract to build an
LNG-to-power project in Vietnam.
New projects Pulse cited multiple unnamed industry
State-owned PetroVietnam agreed in October sources as saying that while the Korea Gas
2020 to a joint venture with US power utility AES (KOGAS) led consortium, which includes Han-
to develop the $1.4bn Son My LNG project. The wha Energy and Korea Southern Power, was
terminal – which will have an initial capacity of waiting for the government’s final approval for
3mn tpy of LNG, before being expanded to 6mn the Hai Lang project, the South Korean firms
tpy – will supply the planned Son My 1 and Son were the only competitive bidders in last month’s
My 2 power plants from 2024. tender.
Several other projects involving foreign The project is to be developed over three
investors are also in the works. phases, with the first involving the construc-
Malaysian contractor Jaks Resources tion of a 1,500-MW power plant, and will cover
announced on September 13 that it had signed 1.2mn square metres of land on Quang Tri Prov-
a non-binding and non-exclusive memoran- ince’s coast. The initial phase carries a KRW2.5
dum of understanding (MoU) with Vietnamese trillion ($2.13bn) price tag.
developer T&T Group to explore the potential of
collaborating on the 1,500-MW Quang Ninh 2 What next
LNG-to-power project in Quang Ninh Province. LNG imports are vital to the government’s
Jaks said it would serve as a “strategic inves- forthcoming decree on reducing greenhouse gas
tor” that would be responsible for engineering, (GHG) emissions. The decree, which is expected
procurement and construction (EPC) processes, to be come into force on January 1, 2022, will
while T&T would manage operations on the reduce the country’s GHG emissions in line
ground. The Malaysian firm added that it would with commitments set out under the 2015 Paris
“lead financing supported by credit agencies for Agreement.
debt” and would also be responsible for identify- Vietnam has pledged to reduce GHG emis-
ing other international investors. sions by 9%, or 83.9mn tonnes of CO2 equiv-
Singapore’s Delta Offshore Energy (DOE), alent, by 2030 from its “business-as-usual”
meanwhile, said on September 7 that Bac Lieu’s scenario – with around 51.5mn tonnes of that
provincial government had approved the com- coming from energy sector reductions.
pany’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) By leaning away from coal and oil towards gas
for its proposed 3,200-MW combined cycle gas in the quest to slash emissions, Vietnam is fol-
turbine (CCGT) power plant and LNG import lowing a trend seen in other emerging markets
terminal. that are struggling to balance their green and
“A key driver to growth is foreign direct economic agendas. Simply put, the fuel remains
investment [FDI] and this project is a low-hang- the easiest way for developing economies to
ing fruit for such disbursements. The EIA is a key score points in both columns as they build up
step in unlocking this capital,” DOE co-founder their renewable energy base.™

Week 37 15•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7