Participating in the signing ceremony were representatives from the Government Office, the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, the People’s Committee of Can Tho city and representatives of units and partners.
On the side of Petrovietnam, there were President and CEO Le Manh Hung, representatives of the Board of Directors, the Executive Management Board, leaders of Divisions and member units of the Group.
Framework Agreement on Gas Sale Contract of Block B for O Mon II Thermal Power Plant between Petrovietnam and the joint venture of Marubeni Corporation and Trading Construction Works Organization (WTO) was signed in the witness of Government Agencies and related entities. The signing of this Framework Agreement was an important step for the parties to continue to carry out the necessary work to ensure the progress of the Block B Gas - Power Project Chain.
Under the agreement, the parties agree on the principles and main terms in the Gas Sale Contract (GSA) fully and as a basis for the parties to promote the investment progress of all projects in the Block B Gas - Power Project Chain. The gas receiving progress of O Mon II Thermal Power Plant will be in sync with the field development progress of the Upstream Block B Gas Project.
Block B, 48/95 and 52/97 (hereinafter referred to as Block B) are located offshore to the southwest of Vietnam, in the Malay Basin - Tho Chu lowland of Vietnam’s continental shelf, about 300 km from the coast of Ca Mau, 400 km from O Mon Power Center, with a sea depth of about 77 m.
The entire gas source of Block B will be transported by pipeline to O Mon district (Can Tho city) to supply gas to the O Mon I, O Mon II, O Mon III and O Mon IV thermal power plants (with total capacity of about 3,810 MW). During the stabilization phase, Block B will provide power plants with about 5.06 billion m3 of gas per year to produce about 21.2 billion kWh of electricity, meeting part of the energy demand for socio-economic development of Vietnam in the coming time.
The O Mon II thermal power plant project has a design capacity of about 1050MW, the selected configuration is 2-2-1 (two gas turbines, two heat recovery boilers and one steam turbine) to ensure optimal efficiency, reliability, and high flexibility during operation. It is expected that when the plant comes into operation, it will consume about 1.35 billion m3 of gas per year. Regarding the project implementation schedule, the plant will complete the investment and officially put into commercial operation in 2026-2027, ensuring compliance with the general progress of the Block B gas - power project chain.
When O Mon II Thermal Power Plant comes into operation, it will produce an average of 6,300 GWh per year, contribute to enhancing the power supply capacity of the national power system. Besides, the plant also creates jobs for more than 1000 workers.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Shino Mooro, President and CEO of Marubeni Asian Power Singapore, representative of the Marubeni - WTO joint venture shared the signing of the framework agreement on Block B gas sale contract for O Mon II Thermal Power Plant with Petrovietnam would be an important factor to contribute to the final investment decision of the Block B gas project; At the same time, he was committed to making efforts to accelerate the overall development of the project to synchronize with the project chain.
Mr. Tetsuhiro Nobuta, Counselor of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam emphasized the participation of Japanese enterprises in the projects under the Block B Gas - Power Project Chain was of great significance, not only contributing to the local socio-economic development but also further tightening the strategic cooperation relationship between Japan and Vietnam on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On behalf of Petrovietnam’s leaders, President and CEO Le Manh Hung thanked the Government, Can Tho City People’s Committee, relevant ministries and agencies for their attention and support, close and timely direction to Petrovietnam and contractors in the implementation of the Block B Gas - Power Project Chain; he also thanked and appreciated the negotiation team of the two sides for working effectively to have the signing of the framework agreement; he confirmed the signing of the framework agreement was an important step for the parties to continue to carry out the necessary work to ensure the progress of the project chain.
According to President and CEO Le Manh Hung, the path ahead still has many difficulties and challenges with the goal of reaching the Final Investment Decision (FID) in June 2023. In order to ensure the production progress and have the first Block B gas flow by the end of 2026, Petrovietnam’s leader expected the oil and gas contractors and power plant investors to make every effort to proactively decide to implement the project chain on schedule.
As emphasized by Mr. Le Manh Hung, the Group always considers putting the Block B Project into operation as a very important task and should be strongly implemented in 2023. The development of the Block B Project will contribute a significant source of revenue for the State budget and socio-economic development for the provinces in the Southwest region, and contribute to ensuring the national electricity generation demand in the period after 2026. Petrovietnam hopes to continue to receive timely attention and support from the Government, Can Tho City People’s Committee, relevant ministries and branches for the Block B project in the coming time. On the basis of the signed framework agreement, President and CEO Le Manh Hung suggested the negotiation team of the two sides continue to urgently negotiate details and complete the gas sale contract for O Mon II thermal power plant in 2023.