Australia, Japan, Vinacomin to Build Power, Diesel Plants in Northern Vietnam

The Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) will join hands Australian Linc Energy Ltd. (LNCGY) and Japanese Marubeni Corp. (MARUY) to build a thermal power plant and a diesel oil production plant from synthetic gas with a combined investment of US$400 million in northern Hung Yen province, the News newspaper reported.

 

They have agreed to set up a joint venture with Vinacomin holding a 60 per cent stake and the other two partners 20 per cent each to build the plants upon the success of testing applying the underground coal gasification (UCG) technology in the Red River coal basin, said Nguyen Thanh Son, director of Vinacomin’s Song Hong Energy Company.

 

Gas reserve in Khoai Chau district of Hung Yen province and Tien Hai district of neighboring Thai Binh province is estimated at 20 billion tons of coal equivalent, six times higher than the coal reserve in Vietnam’s largest coal mining province of Quang Ninh, ensuring coal gas supply for the plants.

 

Vinacomin, Linc Energy and Marubeni have recently reached an agreement worth US$6.5 million in Hanoi to jointly implement a project to apply the underground coal gasification (UCG) technology in the Red River coal basin with an expected completion by the end of 2009.

 

Linc Energy has been successful in production of diesel from gas at US$42 per barrel, much cheaper than the current world price of US$75 per barrel. (News, VNA)