Petrovietnam tech unit plans wind power exports to Singapore

Petrovietnam Technical Services Corp (PTSC) has asked Ba Ria-Vung Tau authorities to approve an ocean survey for a mega project to export offshore wind power to Singapore.

Le Manh Cuong, CEO of PTSC, made the request to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Chairman Nguyen Van Tho on Wednesday during the latter’s visit to PTSC's headquarters in the southern coastal province.

Cuong added that the sea survey proposal, which was sent to provincial authorities in January, had not been approved yet because the new national Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) had not been signed off at the time.

The PDP VIII was approved last month, so the province should now consider the project, worth tens of billions of USD, which would be beneficial to the area amid the energy transition trend, the PTSC CEO added.

Cuong also suggested provincial authorities work with the government, ministries, and relevant authorities to process other documents for the project's implementation.

PTSC and Singapore’s Sembcorp announced a joint development agreement to sell offshore wind electricity to Singapore in February during Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s three-day visit to the island state.

Per the agreement, PTSC and Sembcorp will invest in a 2.3-GW offshore wind farm in Vietnam and export electricity to Singapore via an undersea high-voltage cable, Cuong said in February.

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, he added.

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, Cuong noted.

PTSC is a top-tier contractor for oil-gas and offshore projects in Vietnam. In May, it signed a contract to build offshore wind farm foundations for Orsted, becoming the first Vietnamese business to receive a mass order for offshore wind power equipment.

In November 2022, PTSC M&C, the mechanical and construction arm of PTSC, kicked off the construction of the offshore substations Hai Long 2 and Hai Long 3 at the 1,044-megawatt Hai Long Offshore Wind Project in the Taiwan Strait.