The Vietnamese oil and gas company PetroVietnam (PVN) has started producing gas from the Sao Vang-Dai Nguyet field off the country’s southern coast.

The deals were signed at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Hanoi on Oct. 28 amid US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's two-day visit to Vietnam Oct. 29-30 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart,

The People’s Committee of Haiphong (Vietnam) has approved ExxonMobil’s 6 Mt/year LNG import terminal and 2,250 MW gas-fired power plant projects, which would require an investment of US$5.1bn.

electricity demand in Vietnam is expected to increase by 7.5 to 8%/year until 2030.

Vietnam has spent around $2.6 billion on importing 36.5 million tons of coal in the first seven months of this year, up 50 percent in volume year-on-year.

The Vietnam's government expects the country to face power shortages in the future

Gazprom, which has already invested in several oil and gas projects in Vietnam, last year signed a new agreement on the development of the Bao Vang gas field and a power station in the central part of country.

The U.K., France and Germany have called for restraint in the South China Sea amid reports that Chinese and Vietnamese vessels are facing off in the disputed waters over competing territorial claims.

U.S. energy firms had interests in the South China Sea and Washington was “committed to bolstering the energy security of our partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific region and in ensuring uninterrupted regional oil and gas production for the global market.”U.S. warships have conducted periodic “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea to challenge China’s claim to nearly all of the strategic waterway.

PAO NOVATEK (“NOVATEK” and/or the “Company”), Total Gas & Power Business Services S.A.S, Siemens Aktiengesellschaft and JSC Zarubezhneft (Zarubezhneft) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in Vietnam.