Japan’s JERA today announced that is has established a full-scale operations base in Vietnam as it considers developing several LNG-to-power projects in the country.
Significantly, Japan is making a concerted effort to penetrate the emerging Asian markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG) as demand booms, such as Vietnam, particularly within the power sector.
Japan’s JERA, a 50-50 joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company and Chubu Electric Power, is reportedly partnering with ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) for a large LNG-to-power project in Vietnam, as Energy Voice reported yesterday.
“Vietnam faces challenges due to economic growth such as a rising demand for electricity, the depletion of domestic resources, and how to address energy decarbonisation. Gas-fired power generation—which emits less CO2 than power generation using other fossil fuels—can be a flexible supplement to intermittent renewable energy and is expected to be an indispensable energy source for furthering the energy transition. For this reason, a number of LNG projects are planned in the country,” JERA said in a statement today.
“JERA has positioned Vietnam as a priority country and is considering the development of several LNG-to-Power projects that will contribute to both decarbonisation and to a stable supply of energy that supports economic growth,” added JERA.
As JERA’s business base in Vietnam, JERA Energy Vietnam will be responsible for furthering the LNG-to-power projects in the country that are now under consideration, as well for exploring new projects, including those in renewable energy, and for gathering information. In addition, it will pursue a wide range of business opportunities including collaboration with local energy companies, said JERA.
Power demand is surging across South and Southeast Asia as developing economies rapidly expand. However, with coal increasingly frowned upon, many countries are pivoting towards natural gas, in the form of imported LNG, to meet this rising demand. Japan Inc, an informally close relationship between the Japanese government and the private sector, aims to take a leading role in this expanding market by supporting the construction of LNG import facilities, associated infrastructure and power plants, across Asia.
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