Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam National Industry - Energy Group (Petrovietnam) is expanding energy, industrial, and nuclear power cooperation with Bulgaria, a move to contribute to Vietnam’s energy transition and national energy security.
During the official visit to Bulgaria by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam in late October, Petrovietnam’s delegation, led by Chairman of the Members’ Council Le Manh Hung, held a series of meetings with Bulgarian partners to promote collaboration in key energy areas.
Strengthening cooperation with BULATOM
In Sofia, Petrovietnam Chairman Le Manh Hung met with Bogomil Manchev, Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Atomic Forum (BULATOM).
BULATOM, a member of the European Atomic Forum (FORATOM), brings together more than 50 members, including enterprises, research institutes, universities, and experts in the nuclear field.
Both sides agreed that nuclear power is a stable, highly-efficient, and low-emission baseload source, playing an essential role in ensuring long-term energy security.
BULATOM shared its more than five decades of experience in developing and operating nuclear power plants. The Bulgarian side expressed its readiness to cooperate with Vietnam in consulting, personnel training, and experience sharing on nuclear plant research, investment, and operation.
The two sides also proposed organising in-depth technical meetings in the near future.
Expanding strategic energy partnership with Bulgaria
During the working session between the Petrovietnam Chairman and Hristo Aleksiev, Secretary to the President of Bulgaria, both sides shared the view that energy is a strategic cooperation area as stated in the joint statement on the upgrade of Vietnam – Bulgaria ties to a Strategic Partnership during Bulgarian President Rumen Radev’s visit to Vietnam in 2024.
Petrovietnam proposed cooperation in building a general energy management model, developing human resources for nuclear energy, conducting joint research on atomic energy and rare earths, and exchanging nuclear power experts.
The Bulgarian side highly valued the group’s proposals and agreed to promote expert-level exchanges and field trips to Bulgaria in the coming time.
Cooperation opportunities in clean energy, industry, fertiliser production
At the Vietnam – Bulgaria Business Forum, Deputy General Director of Petrovietnam Phan Tu Giang reaffirmed the group’s role as a pioneer in developing green and clean energy, contributing to Vietnam’s net-zero target by 2050 in line with the Government’s COP26 commitments.
Petrovietnam has been implementing measures to “green” its coal-fired power plants, deploy carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, and push ahead with clean energy projects such as green hydrogen and green ammonia. It has also introduced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through its subsidiary Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC (BSR), marking an important step forwards for Vietnam’s aviation fuel market.
Petrovietnam emphasised that cooperation with Bulgarian enterprises will not only focus on energy but also extend to supporting industries, equipment manufacturing, and production of green hydrogen and fertilisers, as in line with the group’s three strategic pillars of energy, industry, and services.
Exploring cooperation in industrial digitalisation, VR/AR, AI
In Sofia, the Petrovietnam delegation also visited the Sofia Tech Park (STP), meeting with STP leaders and technology firms specialising in 3D digital twin solutions, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and supercomputing under the Petascale Supercomputer “Discoverer” project.
STP representatives introduced Bulgaria’s technology ecosystem and AI infrastructure, while Petrovietnam shared its sci-tech, innovation, and digital transformation strategy, including AI and machine learning applications for operational safety and business efficiency.
The two sides agreed on initial cooperation in three areas: infrastructure digitalisation and predictive analytics for industrial assets, AR/VR-based safety training and simulation for the oil and gas industry, and AI/HPC collaboration for simulation workloads. They will maintain contact, exchange technical data, and consider proof of concept (PoC) projects when conditions permit.
The visit took place as Vietnam accelerates its just energy transition towards the 2050 net-zero goal, while Bulgaria – an EU member with strong expertise in nuclear power – is pursuing sustainable energy transformation. The meetings laid a solid foundation for practical and mutually beneficial cooperation, contributing to the traditional friendship and industrial – energy partnerships between Vietnam and Bulgaria./.
