Page 14 - GLNG Week 44 2020

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ExxonMobil, JERA sign Vietnamese MoU

PROJECTS & EXXONMOBIL Hai Phong Energy (EMPHE), growing and is expected to double between 2020
COMPANIES Hai Phong People’s Committee and Japan power and 2030,” said Nguyen Van Tung, chairman, Hai
generation company JERA have signed a mem- Phong People’s Committee.
orandum of understanding (MoU) to work “Hai Phong City is pleased to collaborate with
together on a potential integrated LNG-to- ExxonMobil and JERA to provide a clean energy
power project in Hai Phong. resource for Vietnam in Hai Phong City.”
ExxonMobil, the Hai Phong city government “ExxonMobil is honoured to work with
and JERA have agreed to expand on their strong JERA and Hai Phong City to explore innovative
co-operation and exchange of expertise to jointly approaches to bring about competitive LNG-to-
study natural gas market development opportu- power projects in Vietnam,” said ExxonMobil
nities, including LNG import facilities and gas- Hai Phong Energy director Irtiza Sayyed.
fired power plants. “As a gas industry leader with strategic access
ExxonMobil has submitted a master plan to LNG supplies around the world, ExxonMo-
application with a project concept for consid- bil is well-positioned to supply cleaner, relia-
eration and potential inclusion in Vietnam’s ble energy to power Vietnam’s future. JERA
National Power Development Plan (PDP). Hai is extremely pleased to participate in the Hai
Phong City has submitted a letter of recommen- Phong project being developed by ExxonMobil
dation to include power demand with potential and we are eager to utilise our expertise in the
locations of power plants and LNG import infra- entire LNG value chain for successful project
structure. The project submissions are pending implementation. We have more than 50 years of
government approvals. experience as the world’s first utility who intro-
LNG-fuelled power in Hai Phong will pro- duced LNG to the power industry,” said JERA’s
vide a more environmentally friendly alterna- managing executive officer and senior operating
tive to the currently proposed coal projects in officer, James H. Vigil.
the master plan. “Vietnam is a very important country for
“Hai Phong is industrialising at a fast pace, JERA, and we would like to contribute to its pros-
with an annual growth rate of over 20%. perity through various initiatives, including this
Therefore, our annual power consumption is important project.”™

EUROPE

Engie backs out of proposed US LNG deal

PROJECTS & FRENCH utility Engie has abandoned talks The news prompted criticism from US poli-
COMPANIES with US-based NextDecade over a proposed ticians, including North Dakota Senator Kevin
LNG supply deal involving gas from the planned Cramer, who sent a letter to French President
Rio Grande LNG terminal in South Texas. This Emmanuel Macron arguing that importing US
comes after NewsBase reported last week that LNG would result in lower emissions than buy-
Engie had delayed signing a deal with NextDec- ing the fuel from Russia.
ade following pressure from the French govern- Indeed, NextDecade has been trying to
ment – which has a 23.6% stake in the utility – to position itself as a future low-emissions – or
seek cleaner supplies instead. even no-emissions – provider of LNG. The
The French government banned domes- company redesigned its Rio Grande facility
Engie’s exit from talks tic hydraulic fracturing in 2011 and has since this year, and announced last month that it
over a supply deal expressed misgivings over importing gas that could reduce emissions from the project by
comes as a blow to is produced using the technique. And such gas, around 90% using carbon capture and storage
NextDecade’s efforts produced from shale formations and involving (CCS) and proprietary processes. The com-
to secure offtake the use of fracking, is what US LNG export ter- pany says it is continuing to work on address-
agreements. minals are using for feedstock. ing the remaining 10%, with an eventual aim of
NextDecade, which is seeking offtake agree- carbon neutrality.
ments to underpin its proposed Rio Grande However, Engie’s exit from talks over a supply
LNG export terminal, was initially reported to deal comes as a blow, given that NextDecade is
be continuing to pursue a deal. However, Engie trying to secure offtake agreements for an addi-
confirmed to media this week that it had aban- tional 9mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG in order
doned talks over the deal. France’s Le Monde to reach a final investment decision (FID). This
newspaper attributed this to the deal being at is in addition to the 2mn tpy deal the company
odds with Engie’s energy transition strategy. already has for Rio Grande.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 06•November•2020