Vietnam’s first regasification terminal to open door for LNG imports

Construction of the terminal, which would turn liquefied natural gas (LNG) back into its gaseous state, could begin early 2019 after tenders are issued for the project in October or November this year, said Pham Van Phong, director of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Vietnam JSC, a subsidiary of the state-run PV GAS. 

Phong told VnExpress International that the feasibility study and front-end engineering design (FEED) for the Thi Vai LNG terminal in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, has been completed.

“We have submitted the regasification terminal proposal, valued at some $285 million, to the Ministry of Trade and Industry for approval. We plan to call Engineering, Procurement and Construction tenders for the project in October or November as prescribed in the 2013 Law on Bidding, once the project is ratified by the ministry,” he said.

The terminal, with a designed capacity of one - three million metric tons (mt) per annum, is expected to begin operations in late 2020. It will serve gas-fired power plants in the southeastern region.

Another regasification project – the Son My LNG terminal in the central province of Binh Thuan – is under negotiation.

PV Gas had discussed a joint venture with US-based AES Corporation to develop the Son My terminal, according to an LNG Vietnam JSC source.

The Son My terminal may have a designed capacity of 10 million mt per annum. Project construction is set to begin in 2019-2020, Phong said.

He expected that construction of the LNG reserve and liquefaction bases, as required by overseas sellers, will help remove bottlenecks and pave the way for LNG imports.

Vietnam’s development plan envisages the building of four more terminals in addition to the two mentioned above. Together, the six projects need a total capital investment of more than $6 billion.

Under the revised National Power Development Plan VII, Vietnam will strive to increase its total power generation capacity to around 129,500 megawatts (MW) by 2030.

Of this 19,000 MW will come from power plants fired by gas, including LNG.

In its Q1 2018 report, the Wood Mackenzie global research and consultancy group estimates that Vietnam’s LNG imports can start by 2023 and go up to 2.5 mt per annum by 2030. Vietnam is among the countries that will import LNG to replace declining domestic gas production.