Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam needs a stable, transparent policy framework, synchronised infrastructure planning and effective risk-sharing mechanisms to attract investment and accelerate LNG infrastructure development, meeting rising energy demand from economic growth, digital transformation and high-tech industries, experts said at a seminar in Hanoi on November 5.
Addressing the seminar entitled “Developing LNG Infrastructure in Vietnam: International Experience and Policy Implications”, jointly organised by the Party Central Committee's Commission for Policy and Strategy, the US Embassy and Excelerate Energy, Nguyen Van Phuong, deputy head of the commission, said Resolution No. 70-NQ/TW of the Political Bureau on ensuring national energy security through 2030, with a vision to 2045, calls for diversified energy supplies, synchronised infrastructure and regional energy centres.
Over the past time, Vietnam has made significant progress in developing the LNG supply chain. However, compared with the requirements of the revised Power Development Plan VIII, these efforts are only at an initial stage, with many projects still facing implementation delays.
In practice, LNG infrastructure development faces three major challenges, including determining the appropriate scale of development amid market volatility and the demands of the national energy strategy, ensuring synchronisation across the entire supply chain, and mobilising capital while sharing risks, given the substantial investment requirements and long payback periods of LNG projects, which call for stable and predictable policy frameworks.
US Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks noted that Vietnam had made notable progress through the revised Power Development Plan VIII and regulations currently being implemented. However, to realise the plan’s targets, Vietnam needs to address several longstanding challenges openly highlighted by investors, lenders and project developers.
She stressed that US companies, with advanced technologies, extensive operational experience and a long-term commitment to Vietnam, are ready to invest in and supply energy to the country. However, amid intense global competition for investment, capital and business deals would favour markets with strong capabilities, high reliability and a regulatory framework conducive to project financing.
The seminar takes place in Hanoi on November 5. (Photo: petrotimes.vn)
Balancing interests and sharing risks
To develop LNG infrastructure in Vietnam in line with the requirement for energy infrastructure to stay ahead of demand, Phuong called for a shift from individual projects to an integrated LNG infrastructure system, backed by suitable investment models and a stable and transparent policy framework that balances the interests of the State, businesses, investors and consumers.
He stressed that investor selection, shared infrastructure, gas supply contracts, power purchase agreements and pricing mechanisms must be considered as a whole. Gas purchase commitments should be linked to actual electricity dispatch to facilitate project financing and avoid additional costs for the power system. Risks should be allocated transparently, while impacts on electricity prices and long-term financial obligations must be controlled.
Wicks also highlighted the strategic benefits of modern LNG infrastructure, including import terminals and floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), which can diversify supplies, facilitate long-term contracts and strengthen energy security against supply shocks.
As Vietnam expands renewable energy while maintaining power system reliability, LNG-fired power can serve as a valuable complementary source. However, investors need clear pricing and electricity dispatch mechanisms, transparent licensing procedures, standard contracts meeting international lenders' requirements, and long-term power purchase agreements to ensure projects are bankable, she said.
Deputy General Director of Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV GAS) Huynh Quang Hai proposed developing centralised LNG terminals and a main pipeline network linking storage facilities with power plants and other consumers to establish national LNG infrastructure and energy-industrial centres in line with Resolution No. 70. He also called for regulations ensuring Qc-based power dispatch to underpin stable, continuous and competitively priced long-term LNG supplies, alongside supply diversification to reduce dependence on individual sources, towards ensuring national energy security.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Viet Son outlined five priorities: aligning infrastructure development with planning and actual demand; promoting shared infrastructure and appropriate LNG hubs; improving alignment between gas and electricity markets; diversifying supplies and strengthening risk management; and expanding international cooperation in investment, technology and finance.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is working to improve the institutional framework. The 16th National Assembly is expected to pass the law amending and supplementing several articles of the Electricity Law during its current session, while the ministry plans to complete an update of the adjusted Power Development Plan VIII in November, Son said.
Vietnam's LNG consumption demand is forecast to rise sharply from around 500,000 tonnes in 2025 to approximately 17 million tonnes by 2050, with the southern region accounting for about 65% of total demand./.
