US player signs up for LNG terminal project in Vietnam

U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer Excelerate Energy has inked a term sheet with ITECO Joint Stock Company, a Vietnamese private development company, to co-develop a greenfield LNG import terminal in Haiphong, Vietnam.

The Northern Vietnam LNG terminal (NVLT), anticipated to have a total import capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), will be constructed in two phases. The first, with an estimated capacity of 0.7 mtpa, is expected to start operations in 2027. The project development is subject to the execution of definitive agreements, regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other conditions.

The future terminal aims to enhance energy infrastructure in northern Vietnam and cater to the energy needs of the region. ITECO signed a share purchase agreement with JAPEX to promote the project in late 2021 when the partners hoped to reach a final investment decision (FID) in the second half of 2022. 

The initial development plan included the construction of a 50,000 cubic meters (cbm) LNG storage tank, capable of handling up to 650,000 metric tonnes of LNG annually, and associated jetty facilities. An additional 30,000-cbm storage tank was planned for the latter half of the 2020s.

Excelerate’s floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Excelsior is set to service Germany’s Wilhelmshaven 2 LNG terminal. The 138,000-cbm FSRU is expected to be moored at a new island jetty in northwestern’ Germany’s Jade Bay in late 2024. Natural gas vaporized at the unit will be sent to shore via ECOnnect Energy’s IQuay F-Class System and fed into the Open Grid Europe (OGE) gas grid.