Firms gain permit to conduct surveys for power exports to Singapore

PTSC, the technical arm of state-owned Petrovietnam, has become the first and only company to receive a permit for wind, marine and geological surveys for a project to export electricity to Singapore.

The permit was granted by Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, according to a Monday announcement by Singapore’s Sembcorp, PTSC's partner in the project. The permit features two locations covering 89,027 hectares and 98,897 hectares off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Besides, both PTSC and Sembcorp Utilities Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Singapore's Sembcorp, have obtained a Letter of Intent from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the two will cooperate towards conditional approval from the EMA for the project.

The two achievements were announced during Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s state visit to Vietnam from August 27-29 as part of the 50th anniversary of Singapore-Vietnam ties.

The project covers about 200,000 hectares of sea across two offshore sites to the south of Vietnam, Sembcorp added.

In February, PTSC and Sembcorp Utilities signed an agreement to supply electricity directly to Singapore via an undersea cable from a 2.3-GW offshore wind power project. In order to achieve its net-zero carbon emission goal by 2050, Singapore plans to import 30% of its electricity from clean sources from 2035 and apply progressive carbon taxes, said PTSC CEO Le Manh Cuong.

An offshore wind power project normally takes at least five-seven years to reach commercial operation. If the authorities provide suitable legal support and permit an early survey and use of waters for electricity exports, PTSC is looking at commercial operations starting in 2030, said PTSC CEO Le Manh Cuong.