The Bac Lieu liquefied natural gas (LNG)-to-power plant is a 3.2GW power plant proposed to be built in the Bac Lieu province of Vietnam by Delta Offshore Energy (DOE), a clean energy projects developer based in Singapore.
DOE and the project contractors signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bac Lieu Provincial Government to develop the project in October 2020. The company secured 70ha of land for the project from Bac Lieu Province People’s Council in April 2021. The construction of the project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021.
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The first of four 800MW blocks is expected to be operational by early-2024, while the remaining three blocks are anticipated to be installed by 2027. DOE is currently negotiating with state-owned power generation and distribution company Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to finalise a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project.
The combined-cycle power plant will be developed with an estimated investment of approximately $4bn. It is the first 100% private and foreign-owned LNG-to-power project in the country, representing a key milestone in Vietnam’s energy sector.
The project will also support the country’s transition from coal to gas as the primary fuel source for power generation.
Bac Lieu LNG-to-power plant location and details
The Bac Lieu LNG-to-power plant will be located in the Hoa Binh district, roughly 250km south of Ho Chi Minh city, in the Bac Lieu province, southern Vietnam.
The project is expected to generate more than 20TWh of electricity a year and have a regasification capacity of up to six million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) when fully operational. The electricity generated from the project will be sufficient to meet the needs of approximately 32 million households as well as support industrialisation in the region.
The project infrastructure will include a 3.2GW combined-cycle power plant, LNG receiving terminal, regasification plant, pipeline, and associated offshore and onshore infrastructure. The pipeline will transport LNG from the offshore regasification terminal to the power plant.
Turbine details
The combined-cycle power plant will be installed with four General Electric (GE) 9HA.02 single-shaft turbines, each with a power-generating capacity of up to 838MW. The first turbine is scheduled to be installed in 2024, while the last turbine’s installation is anticipated to be completed by 2027.
The 9HA.02 turbine has a combined cycle efficiency of more than 63%, which provides a cost-effective conversion of fuel to electricity for cleaner electricity generation.
LNG supply for Bac Lieu power project
DOE and Australia-based company Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (LNGL) signed a supply and purchase agreement (SPA) for 2Mtpa of LNG from the proposed 8Mtpa Magnolia LNG project export terminal in Louisiana, US, in September 2019.
DOE also issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the supply of between 2.5Mtpa and 3Mtpa of LNG to the project’s regasification facility over 25 years in September 2020.
A total of nine bidders were shortlisted from 29 interested LNG suppliers by the end of 2020.
Contractors involved in the LNG-to-power plant project
GE Power, a subsidiary of global industrial conglomerate GE, was selected to supply four turbines for the power plant.
Multi-national engineering and construction services company McDermott was awarded the front-end engineering design (FEED) services contract for the subsea gas pipeline for the project in August 2020. The contractual scope also includes the provision of pre-engineering geotechnical and geophysical survey services.
American engineering company Bechtel received a contract to provide FEED services for the project in July 2021. The project will move to the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) execution stage, upon completion of the FEED.
Black & Veatch, a global engineering and construction company based in the US, was selected by DOE as the technical advisor for the Bac Lieu project. The same company also completed a concept study of the plant.
Swedish firm Stena was selected to provide the floating jetty-less LNG terminal solution and the self-installing regas platform (SRP) for the project, while UK-based shipbroking services firm Howe Robinson Partners is providing LNG shipping advisory services.
US-based financial services provider JP Morgan is the debt structuring agent and mandated lead arranger for project finance, while Marsh JLT was appointed to provide risk and insurance advisory services for the project.
Law firms Hogan Lovells, Gide Loyrette Nouel, and ACSV Legal are the legal advisors to DOE for the power project.
