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(VEN) - Under its strategy to develop the domestic energy sector to 2020 with a vision for 2025, Vietnam will make efforts to ensure sufficient supply of energy for socioeconomic development; improve the accuracy of assessments on primary energy resources; and increase cooperation with other countries in the region and the world in exploring and utilizing new energy resources.
Energy is one of the most important sectors of the national economy and is considered to be the driving force for the country's development. As a result of its great efforts, the domestic energy sector maintained stable supply in the past years. However, in the years to come when primary energy resources become exhausted, Vietnam will have to cope with a shortage of energy. The Prime Minister has released Decision 1855/QD-TTg approving the National Strategy for Energy Development to 2020 with a vision for 2025.
Vietnam is promoting the development of the key industries and therefore the domestic demand for electricity is growing. There are two scenarios for electricity production in Vietnam from now to 2015 and 2025. The first scenario is that Vietnam's electricity output will reach more than 190 billion kWh by 2015, more than 294 billion kWh by 2020 and more than 431 billion kWh by 2025. The second scenario is that Vietnam's electricity output will reach more than 250 billion kWh, over 334 billion kWh and nearly 490 billion kWh by 2015, 2020 and 2025 respectively. In the future, electricity will be produced by coal-run thermopower plants, hydropower plants, gas-run thermopower plants, nuclear power plants and renewable energy power plants. Along with producing electricity domestically, Vietnam will continue to import this kind of product. To improve power supply, Vietnam will pay more attention to developing the power grid. Le Tuan Phong, the deputy director of the Energy Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said, "Investment in the electricity sector in the time period from 2006 to 2025 totals US$80 billion (US$52 billion in power sources and US$28 billion in the power grid)."
Similarly to electricity, the domestic demand for coal is forecasted to increase in the future. The Vietnamese coal sector has set an objective that by the end of 2010 it will finish all the jobs related to exploration and assessment of the natural resources at the depth of 300m of the Northeast coal basin and a part of the coal basin in the Red River Delta. By 2015 the sector will explore and assess natural resources in the coal basin of the Red River Delta and increase investment in coal exploration and extraction activities in Laos, Cambodia and African countries. The production output of clean coal that is extracted from the Northeast coal basin and other coal mines must reach 48-50 million tonnes by the end of 2010; about 60-65 million tonnes by 2015; 70-75 million tonnes by 2020 and more than 80 million tonnes by 2025. From 2010 the extraction of coal from the Red River coal basin will be carried out with both the coal gasification technology and the mining technology. In the years to come, due to the high demand, Vietnam will continue to import coal.
The oil and gas sector's orientation is to increase investment in extracting oil and gas, building gas pipelines to supply gas to power plants and industrial production facilities. The sector will make a master plan to develop the gas networks in southern and northeastern Vietnam. At the same time, it will develop the oil and gas processing technology and accelerate the construction of petrochemical refinery centers.
The oil and gas sector's target for the time period of 2006-2010 is to extract about 25-30 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) each year, including 18-19 million tonnes of domestically extracted crude oil, 0.2-1 million tonnes of crude oil extracted overseas, and 8-10 billion cu.m of fuel gas. The extraction target for 2011-2015 is 31-34 million TOE per year (16-18 million tonnes of domestically extracted crude oil, 3.5-5.5 million tonnes of crude oil extracted overseas, and 11-15 billion cu.m of fuel gas). The target for 2015-2025 is 34-35 million TOE per year (13-15 million tonnes of domestically extracted crude oil, 3.5-5.5 million tonnes of crude oil extracted overseas, and 15-16 billion cu.m of fuel gas).
Vietnam has gained notable results in developing new and renewable energy resources, especially in building and operating small-sized hydropower plants. Projections are for new and renewable energy to account for about three percent of the total amount of primary commercial energy in Vietnam by 2010, about five percent by 2020 and 11 percent by 2050.
Le Tuan Phong believes that the National Strategy for Energy Development to 2020 with a vision for 2025 will ensure sufficient supply of energy for socioeconomic development as well as people's lives./.
By Lan Phuong
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