Central Vietnam province seeks to accelerate long-delayed power project with LNG as fuel

By Tri Duc
Tue, February 11, 2025 | 1:18 pm GMT+7

Vietnam's central coastal province of Quang Ngai seeks to temporarily use LNG as feedstock for the long-delayed Ca Voi Xanh gas-to-power project.

Quang Ngai authorities made the suggestion at a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh last weekend. The move aims to soon put gas-fired power plants No.1 and No.3 within the Dung Quat power center into operation.

Originally, the power center plans to utilize gas harvested from Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) gas field, but the resource is not exploited yet.

In reply, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said the ministry would make calculations and work with relevant agencies to proceed with the change. Dung Quat power center can power up one-third of Vietnam, he clarified.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan at a working session in Quang Ngai province, central Vietnam, February 9, 2025. Photo courtesy of Cong Thuong (Industry & Trade) magazine.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan at a working session in Quang Ngai province, central Vietnam, February 9, 2025. Photo courtesy of Cong Thuong (Industry & Trade) magazine.

American giant ExxonMobil and its Vietnamese partner first discovered the offshore Blue Whale field in 2011. “The resource is large enough to provide power to a city the size of Hanoi for more than 20 years,” ExxonMobil had highlighted then.

The project was approved for implementation by a partnership between the American firm and state-owned Petrovietnam years ago.

In August 2024, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said Vietnam is considering proceeding with the mega project without ExxonMobil in the initial phases, since the latter is engaged elsewhere. Little progress had been made because ExxonMobil was restructuring itself and is now focusing on new energy, Dien added.

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