PV Gas to supply LNG for power production

PV Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned Petrovietnam, is set to supply 70,000 tons of LNG to state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) for power production, starting mid-April, PV Gas said Tuesday.

The move follows a prime ministerial directive issued in February on ensuring electricity supply and coal-gas for power generation. It also aims to support EVN in power generation during the peak dry season of 2024.

The LNG is set for delivery to Phu My 3 thermal power plant in April-May, for power generation of 500 million kWh, according to PV Gas, the first and only enterprise qualified for LNG imports and exports. PV Gas is also the only business in Vietnam to have a complete LNG infrastructure system, operational since July 2023.

The Al Jassasiya vessel is scheduled to supply 70,000 tons of LNG from Ras Laffan, Qatar, arriving at PV Gas’s LNG Thi Vai terminal on Thursday. The delivery is the first of its kind this year and the second for PV Gas, the firm said last month.

Meanwhile, EVN is preparing to sign contracts with an LNG supplier for a power factory in the southeastern region from April 15, said Nguyen Quoc Trung, head of the National Load Dispatch Center (NLDC) under EVN.

It will be the first time that EVN has used LNG-fired power this year, providing a solution for power shortages, Trung said at a recent meeting held to discuss power supplies during the dry season. Power usage is set to go up 9.6% year-on-year in 2024, he clarified, noting that the increases may even reach 13% for May, June, and July, the peak of summer.

In addition to reserving water in reservoirs for power production, EVN is willing to use diesel oil and fuel oil for electricity generation, also the most expensive sources of electricity, Trung added.

In the first quarter of 2024, Vietnam’s power production reached 69.4 billion kWh, up 11.8% year-on-year, according to EVN.

The figure included 10.62 billion kWh of hydropower, or 15.3% of the total; coal-fired power of 39.99 billion kWh, or 57.6%; gas-fired power of 6.06 billion kWh, or 8.7%; imported power of 1.15 billion kWh, or 1.7%; and 11.45 billion kWh of renewable energy, or 16.5%.

The renewable energy portion featured 6.61 billion kWh of solar power and 4.43 billion kWh of wind power.