Demand for natural gas will require Vietnam to import

PetroVietnam Gas Corp (PV Gas), Vietnam’s largest gas producer, plans to begin construction on a USD2-billion port for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

The firm will submit such a plan for Government approval by the end of this month, PV Gas General Director Do Khang Ninh said.

PV Gas is still considering between five locations, including three along the Thi Vai River in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and two others in Son My and Vinh Tan communes in Binh Thuan Province. The Government will make a final decision on a location, he added.

PV Gas would plans to have the port built and start importing the fuel in the next three years. Imports are projected at 2 to 3 million tonnes per year.

Vietnam’s gas demand is estimated to be nearly 10 billion cubic metres per year, while domestic capacity is only 8.5 billion cubic metres, he noted.

According to Ninh, PV Gas is in the process of finding ways to boost offshore gas production to increase domestic supply.

PV Gas’ surveys have indicated that there may be large natural gas deposits in the central region including Danang, Dong Hoi and Quang Binh. However, the quality is in doubt due to high levels of carbon dioxide.

PV Gas has forecast that Vietnam will need to begin importing three billion cubic metres of gas a year by 2015 in order to meet increasing demand from power generation, industry and household consumption.

In the next four years, the country’s gas demand will reach 17 billion cubic metres annually, but domestic supply may be around only 14 billion cubic metres.

Last year, PV Gas supplied around 8.5 billion cubic metres of gas for the domestic market, which helped feed the production of 36 billion kWh of electricity a year, accounting for 40% of the total national power output. – TBKTSG

Tags: Vietnam gas, Vietnam gas imports