Malaysian state-run oil and gas company Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) has signed a binding heads of agreement with the Vietnamese state-owned oil and gas company Petrovietnam (PVN group) for the sales and purchase of additional gas volumes from Malaysia to Vietnam. Petronas will ship natural gas from its Malaysian operations to the Vietnamese province of Ca Mau in the Mekong delta, where a gas, 1.5 GW gas-fired power plant and fertiliser plant complex is operating (since 2008 for the CCGT power plant). The complex currently uses 2.2 bcm/year of gas from the offshore Block Pm3CAA on the border with Malaysia. However, Petrovietnam expects to face a 1 bcm/year gas shortage soon, requiring additional gas imports.
In 2018, Petronas reported a significant leap in revenue (+12%) for 2018 due to higher average prices for all its products. However, the total LNG sales volumes decreased by 6% throughout the year to 28.9 Mt, mainly due to the lower volumes from LNG plants. The group secured 10 LNG sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) during the year, corresponding to a total volume of 5.8 Mt. As for the Petronas' gas sales volumes in Malaysia, they rose by 3.1% mainly due to the growing domestic demand.