Up to 3Bcum (100Bcf) of gas will flow ashore each year during the project’s first phase, providing power and a new energy source to feed Vietnam’s growing industrial base. Partners BP, PetroVietnam, ONGC Videsh, and ConocoPhillips estimate the gas could be used to generate about 40% of Vietnam’s existing electricity supply, a huge increase in the country’s energy potential.
The partners gathered on 26 November in Ho Choi Minh City with invited guests to celebrate the accomplishment at a gala event in Ho Chi Minh City’s Reunification Palace. “The Nam Con Son Gas project is the most important gas project and will be a firm foundation on which the natural gas industry will develop,” said PetroVietnam General Director Nguyen Xuan Nham. “The project is considered by the Government of Vietnam to be a key driver for commercial and industrial development in Vietnam’s southern provinces.” The massive investment project includes development of an offshore gasfield, construction of a 24-in diameter, 399-km long, pipeline to carry the gas ashore, onshore processing facilities, and the 716-MW Phu My 3 power plant. Gas from the Nam Con Son project will be marketed directly to PetroVietnam, which will serve as marketer and will deliver the gas to end users in the Phu My industrial zone.
The gas project is tapping reserves discovered in the Lan Tay and Lan Do gasfields in Block 06.1. The two fields contain reserves of 58Bcm and are expected to supply gas for the next 20 years. Other natural gas fields have been discovered in the basin and will provide more resources to feed Vietnam’s energy growth. The successful completion of the project is seen as setting a standard for other big investment projects, and sends a strong message to the international community that a multi-billion dollar project can be successful in Vietnam. “The Nam Con Son Project should send a strong message to foreign investors that Vietnam is a good investment destination, especially with the availability of abundant, environmentally-clean, and cost-competitive natural gas,” said ConocoPhillips Vietnam President Georg Storaker. “We see Vietnam as a key growth area in Southeast Asia and look forward to growing our business interests here.”
Vietnam has embarked on a massive programme to increase its electricity generation capabilities, and the new gas source provides a needed fuel supply for those plants. One of the new power plants is the Phu My 3 facility, currently under construction. The project, with its combined-cycle power generation technology, will enable Vietnam to generate electricity more quickly, cheaply and cleanly than ever before. Operations are slated to begin in late 2003.