The U.S. Mission to Vietnam, in partnership with Petro Vietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas), hosted a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday morning to discuss the adoption and application of globally recognized standards in Vietnam’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) power and infrastructure sector. 

The workshop brought together more than 80 public and private sector representatives from both countries to discuss best practices and opportunities to collaborate in Vietnam’s fast-growing LNG sector, the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said in a press release.   

In 2017, the United States became a net exporter of natural gas for the first time since 1957 and aims to become one of the top global LNG exporters in the coming years. 

U.S. energy firms are poised to work with Vietnam to develop its LNG import and gas-fired power generation capacity.

Executives from the U.S. energy sector and leaders of Cheniere Energy, Energy Capital Vietnam, Gen-X Energy, LNG Limited, S&P Global Platts, and Tellurian provided case studies and examples for effectively developing LNG infrastructure in an efficient and cost-effective manner while implementing internationally recognized standards to ensure safety of the design, construction, and implementation of these projects. 

The workshop also featured presentations from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Susan Sakmar, visiting assistant law professor of the University of Houston Law Center, as well as officials from PV Gas and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.

“Today’s program focuses on the importance of sharing information and best practices in LNG industry codes and standards with the goal of aiding Vietnam’s public and private sector to implement internationally recognized standards in the energy sector,” U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City Deputy Principal Officer Timothy Liston noted in his remarks at the event.

The workshop took place one year after U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink launched the U.S. Mission’s Asia EDGE (Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy) initiative at a major LNG conference in Ho Chi Minh City. 

To support President Trump’s vision for the Indo-Pacific region, Asia EDGE is a U.S. whole-of-government effort to grow sustainable and secure energy markets throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Asia EDGE seeks to strengthen energy security, increase energy diversification and trade, and expand energy access across the Indo-Pacific. 

The U.S. Mission to Vietnam will host a U.S. Department of Commerce-led business development mission to Southeast Asia from March 15 to 24, 2020, with stops in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. 

The trade mission, with additional stops in Indonesia and Thailand, will be the first organized under the Asia EDGE initiative and will help commemorate the 25th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the United States and Vietnam by celebrating current and future bilateral partnerships in the energy sector. 

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