LNG market attracts investors

LNG projects in Việt Nam are attractive to investors. — Photo of www.nangluongvietnam.vn

HCM CITY — Investors are eyeing the Vietnamese liquefied natural gas (LNG) market since environmental protection has become a major factor in energy development in the country, experts have said.

In a report on its website, EVNGenco3 said using and developing LNG had been a solution for the energy sector.

It said that since the mid-1990s, people have been moving towards more sustainable, cleaner and less polluting fuels after seeing the impact of climate change on their daily lives.

As the cleanest fossil fuel, LNG is popular in many countries around the world and is considered a fuel of the future. 

In Việt Nam, the Government has been adopting policies to develop LNG including infrastructure to import and generate power from the fuel.

To foster energy transition, it has been soliciting investment and managed to attract many investors from Japan and the US.

In December, Japan Petroleum Exploration Company Limited bought stakes in ITECO JSC, which plans an LNG project at the South Đình Vũ Industrial Park in Hải Phòng City.

The supply of natural gas in the north is declining and there are fears there may be no supply in future, and the tie-up between JAPEX and ITECO is expected to mitigate the problem.

Their business model is to import LNG and market, store and distribute it both by pipeline and truck. 

Expected for the fourth quarter of 2024 is 50,000 cubic metres of storage tanks, 10 truck loading stations, a vaporiser with a loading capacity of 70 cubic metres per hour, and a wharf to receive ships delivering up to 45,000 cubic metres of the gas.

Mathew Tan, vice chairman of JAPEX, said like in other markets there was competition in Viet Nam too, but enterprises could focus on different market segments. 

Typically, for customers in the industrial sector who want to use clean energy, green energy, renewable energy, and hydrogen, LNG is one of their top priorities, he said. 

In the long run, JAPEX and ITECO aim to introduce a variety of clean fuel solutions and seek opportunities in new projects, he added. — VnExpress News