U.S. energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp is promoting its investment plan for a US$20 billion power complex it is expected to develop alongside the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) in central Vietnam, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

A memorandum of understanding for the project was signed by the two parties during Vietnamese State President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to the U.S. in July 2013.

The American firm has finished a field survey to select a site for the gas-powered complex and will probably place it in Quang Ngai Province.

Exxon Mobil now pays close attention to a location northeast of Vietnam’s sole oil refinery Dung Quat, located in Binh Son District, although the province has introduced four sites to the company, Dau Tu newspaper, a publication under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, reported.

The project is said to be fueled by gas exploited from blocks 117, 118, and 119 off Vietnam’s central coast in the waters administered by Da Nang City, Quang Ngai Province, and Quang Nam Province.

Previously, Exxon Mobil and PVN sought a site with a total area of about 200ha, half of which would be set aside for a 1,500 MW power plant in the first phase.

In the second phase, 4,000-5,000 MW power plants and a gas processing facility will be established there.

Next month the energy giant will share documents related to the project, including the assessment of gas reserves, site selection, and an implementation plan with PVN, and submit them to the trade ministry for consideration and approval, Tien Phong newspaper said.

Quang Ngai authorities have promised to offer special incentives to the developers of the proposed project, suggesting they should choose a location at the local 10,300-hectare Dung Quat Economic Zone.   They also expressed hopes that the planned power complex would help transform the province into a national oil refining hub.  

ExxonMobil is a multinational oil company headquartered in Irving City, Texas.

As of July 2007, the oil company was the world's second largest, after Rosneft, with a daily crude output of 6.5 million barrels.