Page 7 - AsiaElec Week 41

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

facilities – which would have a combined capac- What next?
ity of 10mn tpy by 2025. There is considerable interest in both develop-
The consultancy warned, however, that these ing LNG import capacity in Vietnam and in
projects would be slow to address Vietnam’s supplying the super-chilled fuel to the country
immediate gas shortages. Indeed, it anticipate as the LNG industry works to meet the growing
that Vietnamese LNG import capacity will only demand for gas. As of August, at least eight pro-
reach 1mn tpy by 2023, when Phase 1 of the Thi jects had preliminary supply agreements signed,
Vai terminal is due to enter service, saying that with US companies targeting Vietnam.
this would fill the demand-supply gap “only Recent interest was attributed in part to
marginally”. efforts to make it into Vietnam’s National Power
Complicating this is the fact that the coro- Development Plan VIII, which the country’s
navirus (COVID-19) could result in delays to energy ministry is due to submit to the prime
construction schedules. This is on top of the minister for approval this month. When the
fact that large-scale, multi-billion-dollar pro- finalised plan is published, it will likely provide
jects such as new LNG terminals and associated more clarity on how the LNG industry can be
power plants already run a risk of delays given expected to evolve over the coming years.
their complexity. LNG is set to remain a medium-term option
In the short term, Vietnam faces a crunch for Vietnam, and a long-term one, depend-
in both gas and power generation as demand ing on the pace of the energy transition in the
increasingly outstrips supply. Indeed, Rystad has country, but it will not help with short-term gas
warned that in the shorter term, the country may shortages. The development of new regasifica-
be forced to import more coal in order to meet tion infrastructure will be relatively slow. But
the shortfall, thus undermining efforts to reduce the developers will be keen to move as fast as
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. possible once facilities have been sanctioned.™

China brings back coal switching

The central government has unveiled plans to switch out coal in heating

systems across northern China, this time for a range of cleaner energies

CHINA CHINA has returned to its strategy of switching The environment ministry’s latest plan will
out coal for natural gas, confident in its ability to see households in the northern Beijing-Tian-
WHAT: meet the surge in winter demand the transition jin-Hebei (BTH) metropolitan region as well
The Chinese Ministry of will bring. as Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan prov-
Ecology and Environment The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Envi- inces converted to clean coal, electricity and gas.
wants to convert coal- ronment aims to replace coal with cleaner Government subsidies will be available for rural
fired systems that heat sources of energy – including gas – in the heat- conversions to gas and electricity, while the city-
7.09mn households ing systems of 7.09mn households by the end of gate gas price will be capped during the northern
this month. heating season.
WHY: The return to a programme that left homes The central government has a somewhat
The government wants to and business without vital gas supplies in the checkered past when it comes to coal conversion
cut the northern regions’ depths of the 2017-2018 winter highlights the efforts, however, with efforts to switch 4.74mn
pollution levels government’s confidence that it is better placed households from coal to gas heating ahead of
this time around to overcome energy supply the 2017-2018 winter leading to acute supply
WHAT NEXT: chain challenges. shortages. Colder-than-expected temperatures
Beijing should be able to drove gas demand beyond the capacity of the
pull off the switch without Winter of discontent country’s supply system, exposing inadequacies
triggering gas supply The ministry said on September 28 that the in the country’s pipeline and storage network.
shortfalls proposed plan had been submitted to a range Heavy demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG)
of central and provincial government depart- road tankers ended up sending road truck rates
ments – including the National Development soaring.
and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Insufficient supply and inadequate infra-
Energy Bureau (NEB) – for feedback before Sep- structure meant industrial users’ gas volumes
tember 30. were diverted to the residential sector, leading

Week 41 14•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7