Petrovietnam turns to Europe for investments

Seeks US$7.5 billion investments for major power and energy projects.

State-owned oil and gas group Petrovietnam is looking to Europe for investments of up to US$7.5 billion to help fund eight major projects, including the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

Nguyen Tien Dung, Petrovietnam vice president, said the government will provide loan guarantees for the power projects, and foreign investors will have government support in converting local currency to foreign exchange.

The Thi Vai LNG receiving terminal, the Nam Con Son 2 gas pipeline and three thermal power plants are among the projects open to European investment.

Petrovietnam is in dire need of investments to fund several dozen projects. These projects include an expansion of its existing refinery; building a third refinery; building nine power plants and a series of upstream projects at home and overseas.

Dung Quat, Vietnam’s only oil refinery, aims to raise its capacity to 12 million tons a year, or 240,000 barrels per day from an initial 10 million tons.

"We have been seeking strategic partners who would buy the stakes in the plant and ensure its crude oil supply after the expansion," Dung said.

Investors from Japan, Singapore, Russia, Venezuela, Korea have shown interest, he said.

Petrovietnam has also been pushing up the construction date of a second refinery, Nghi Son. Investors in the plant aim to sign the engineering, procurement and construction contract with the contractor in December and start construction shortly after that, he said.