Petrovietnam seeks WB support in offshore wind energy

State-owned Petrovietnam has called on the World Bank to provide support, including capital, to help with green energy projects, especially offshore wind power.

Petrovietnam chairman Le Manh Hung made the suggestion at a Tuesday meeting with Mariam Sherman, World Bank country director for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

Hung elaborated that Petrovietnam will expand beyond its traditional scope of oil-gas activities, to conduct new activities involving clean energy such as CCS, CCUS, LNG, hydrogen, green ammonia; and renewable energy such as offshore wind power.

For her part, Mariam Sherman said the WB seeks to collaborate with Petrovietnam to conduct joint activities, including renewable energy.

The bank has made investments in Vietnam in the sectors of education, healthcare, energy, transportation, water resources, agriculture, urban growth, digitalization, and climate change adaptation, she added.

As offshore wind power is a new industry in Vietnam, the legal framework is not available yet and the country now has no offshore wind power project. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is drafting a piloting mechanism for offshore wind power. As the sector is linked with national defense-security, the ministry plans to only let state-owned companies join the sector.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha’s conclusion on piloting offshore wind power, Petrovietnam (PVN) and state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) are studying two offshore wind power projects.