A delegation of UK firms in the oil/gas and renewable energy sectors on May 17 attended a conference in HCMC to sound out long-term and strategic cooperation opportunities with Vietnamese firms

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung (L) talks with representatives of the UK delegation and the British Consulate General in HCMC on the sidelines of a conference in HCMC on May 17 - PHOTO: HUNG LE

The “EIC Connect-Energy Vietnam 2018” conference was the largest business gathering of UK firms in Vietnam, with 50 leading energy companies from the UK and others from the ASEAN region attending.

Stuart Broadley, CEO of Energy Industries Council (EIC), cited EIC research last year as saying that Vietnam is one of 10 countries that have plans to invest extensively in the energy sector in the next five years. Therefore, UK energy companies and suppliers of machinery and equipment for the sector are keen on the Vietnamese market.

At the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung said most of Vietnam’s primary energy inputs such as crude oil, coal, gas, hydropower, and non-commercial energy have been produced locally. However, the local demand for energy is increasing while the volume of locally-generated energy remains unchanged, so Vietnam has become a net importer of energy since 2015.

In 2015, the total primary energy volume consumed nationwide was 70.6 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE). Of which, commercial energy accounted for 75.5% and non-commercial energy 24.5%.

The proportion of non-commercial biomass energy in the total energy volume plunged from 44.2% in 2000 to 16.9% in 2015.

By 2035, the energy volume in need was forecast to increase 2.5 times compared to 2015, from 54 million TOE to 134.5 million TOE.

As for the electricity sector, Vietnam will annually need an additional 5,000-7,000 MW of electricity to meet the needs of the industrialization and modernization process and an investment of USUSD7.9 billion.

Thus, the country is in dire need of energy development which creates investment opportunities for international energy investors including those from the UK.

With UK firms’ scientific and technological capacity and Vietnam’s potential, the two sides can boost the cooperation in the sector. The conference is also an opportunity for the two sides to build links to implement projects in the future, said Hung.

UK firms’ technologies and equipment have good quality but high prices, so Vietnam has yet to employ such technologies and equipment, according to a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

EIC Connect Energy Vietnam is a non-profit event which helps enterprises in the energy sector share cooperation opportunities. The event this year was jointly held by the British Consulate General in HCMC, EIC, Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN).

EIC has more than 650 members that are UK firms specializing in the oil/gas and renewable energy sectors

Source: http://english.thesaigontimes.vn