Thailand’s Gulf Energy eyes 3,000 MW LNG power project in northern Vietnam

Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited is eyeing to build an LNG power center in Nam Dinh and cooperate with South Korea’s Taekwang Power on a project in the same province.

In a Monday meeting with Nam Dinh authorities, Panawit Sidejchayabhon, CEO of Gulf Energy Vietnam, said the firm is exploring a 1,500-3,000MW LNG power center project and an LNG terminal capable of accommodating ships of up to 200,000 cubic meters.

The executive also urged Nam Dinh authorities to connect Gulf Energy with Taekwang Power to transform the latter’s project from a coal-fired power plant to an LNG-fired power plant.

The executive noted an LNG power plant may require 100 hectares, while Taekwang Power’s 1,200 MW Nam Dinh 1 thermal power plant project covers 300 hectares.

For the redundant 200 hectares, Gulf Energy is looking to build a second LNG power plant, a power center, and an LNG terminal serving the power center, he added.

Somsak Chutanan, a senior exec at Gulf Energy, highlighted Nam Dinh province’s strengths for these developments, including its proximity to major power load centers in northern Vietnam (Hanoi, Hai Phong city, and Bac Ninh province), and proximity to major industrial hubs in need of gas.

Backing the proposal, Nam Dinh Chairman Pham Dinh Nghi asked the provincial Department of Planning and Investment to work with the company. The initial focus will be cooperation with Taekwang Power to transform this firm's coal-fired power plant project, he added.

On the same page, Pham Gia Tuc, chief of Nam Dinh Party Committee, said Gulf Energy and Taekwang Power should work on the possible transformation of Nam Dinh 1 thermal power plant. The province will facilitate the collaboration between the two foreign firms, he added.

Gulf Energy's move also matches Vietnam's latest national power development plan VIII (PDP VIII), Tuc said.

The 1,200 MW Nam Dinh 1 thermal power plant in Nam Dinh province has an investment of $2.3 billion. The project has been idle due to changes in its shareholder structure, difficulties in capital arrangement, and problems associated with fulfillment of procedures since its investment certificate was issued in 2017, said Sang Young Jin, CEO of the firm, a member of South Korean chaebol Taekwang Group in May.

The project, under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) format, was granted an investment certificate in July 2017 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. State mining giant Vinacomin was designated as the coal supplier for the project, which was the fourth BOT thermal power project in Vietnam at that time.

The project, located in Hai Hau district, was slated to start construction in 2018, however progress has been frozen. Taekwang Power and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power were the two investors, but the latter withdrew.