The Blue Whale gas field, located off the coast of central Vietnam, is facing delays due to challenges in land leasing procedures, airport pipeline issues, and a lack of priority from ExxonMobil.
According to Báo Đấu Thầu, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has communicated with the People’s Committee of Quang Nam province regarding the progress of the Blue Whale Gas Field Development Project. As of July 2, 2024, ExxonMobil, the project operator, reported minimal changes in project progress, citing challenges and obstacles.
The project faces hurdles in land leasing procedures for development, upgrades to Ky Ha Port for condensate production, and unresolved pipeline issues through the Chu Lai International Airport.
Notably, the primary challenge is that ExxonMobil is not prioritizing the project during this phase due to the global energy transition trend. The Blue Whale gas field, located approximately 100 km off the central coast of Vietnam, is operated by the American company ExxonMobil and is considered the country’s largest gas field.
The Blue Whale gas-power project has a total investment of nearly $10 billion and comprises several components:
Upstream and midstream: the Blue Whale CVX development project (including offshore gas extraction system, onshore gas pipeline, and onshore gas processing plant) under PSC Lot 117-119.
Downstream: the Quang Nam power plants (Mien Trung I&II, 750MW/plant invested by PVN) and Quang Ngai plants (Dung Quat I&III, 750MW/1 plant invested by EVN, and Dung Quat II, 750MW by Sembcorp – BOT).
The projected recoverable reserves are 248 billion cubic meters of raw gas (~150 billion cubic meters of hydrocarbon gas). During the annual stabilization phase, it is expected to supply about 7 billion cubic meters of raw gas to the downstream power consumers.
The project timeline has experienced a five-year delay (with the first gas flow expected in 2028). According to PVN, the slow progress is attributed to ExxonMobil’s lack of proactive initiative in project tasks. ExxonMobil is only conducting works as per the approved work program and budget, pending decisions from its parent company, which significantly impacts the overall project progress.
Previously, ExxonMobil had completed the signing of framework agreements for gas sales, front-end engineering design (FEED), and other items, including onshore land clearance (for the plant, warehouse, and gas pipeline) and environmental safety surveys.
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