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The first ignition milestone took place on January 11, according to a statement by PV Power.
PV Power said this is the first time imported LNG has been introduced into an LNG power plant in Vietnam, marking a new milestone for Vietnam’s power industry.
In November 2021, PV Power broke ground on the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 plants in the southern province of Dong Nai, which are worth about $1.4 billion.
Vietnam’s first LNG power plants will have a total capacity of 1.5 GW, according to PV Power.
South Korea’s Samsung C&T secured a contract from PV Power to build the plants in a consortium with Vietnamese contractor Lilama.
PV Power previously said the launch of these LNG plants had been delayed due to several issues, including those related to the project’s land lease and the power purchase agreement with Vietnam’s power utility EVN, which was signed in October last year.
The power firm announced in September 2024 it expected the Nhon Trach 3 power plant to reach the first ignition milestone in October and to start commercial operations in April 2025, while the Nhon Trach 4 power plant was expected to start its commissioning phase in December 2024, and launch commercial operations in July 2025.
PV Power said in the statement last week that the EPC contract is estimated to be over 95 percent complete.
The company noted that the first ignition is also a positive signal to help Nhon Trach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 plants go into commercial operation in 2025.
PV Power did not provide the timeline for the commercial launch of the plants in the new statement.
Deal with PV Gas
PV Power and PV Gas are still working to sign the final gas supply agreement for these plants.
The two firms are taking the final steps to sign the GSA, ensuring a long-term and stable gas source for future operations, PV Power said.
In November last year, PV Gas signed a contract with PV Power to supply the commissioning LNG cargo for the latter’s Nhon Trach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 power plants.
PV Gas launched its Thi Vai LNG terminal on October 29, 2023, after nearly 4 years of construction and commissioning.
This is Vietnam’s first LNG import terminal.
In July 2023, LNG giant Shell delivered the commissioning LNG cargo to the terminal from Indonesia’s Bontang LNG plant.
The Thi Vai LNG import facility consists of one 180,000-cbm LNG tank, a jetty, and regas area.
The terminal has a capacity of 1 mtpa in its first phase, but PV Gas plans to boost the capacity to 3 mtpa in the next stage.