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The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade will launch the full opening of the domestic electricity wholesale market to competition in 2019, following the establishment of a successful year-long pilot period. The Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) will use the remaining time of the trial period to complete training companies in market operations, to improve information technology infrastructure, and to prepare the integration of Electricity of Vietnam (EVN)’s hydropower plants into the market. Renewable energy producers will also be allowed to connect to the national grid.

This wholesale market opening decision fits in the country’s long term plan for the electricity sector as mandated in the 2004 Electricity Law. The liberalisation of the Vietnamese power market is moving forward and is taking place in three stages. The power generation market was opened to competition in 2012 and 87 power plants totalling nearly 23 GW have entered the power generation market over the past five years. The second stage of the liberalisation process is the opening of the wholesale market, slated for opening in 2019. The opening of the retail market will be the final stage of the process and will take place later.

German energy groups innogy and RWE have made their first major decisions regarding the planned integration of innogy into E.ON and its future organization as part of its breakup from RWE announced earlier in 2018. Companies have identified €600-800m in synergy potential starting from 2022.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded a 40% interest in the Ruwais Diyab unconventional onshore gas concession in the United Arab Emirates to the French oil and gas company Total, which will explore, appraise and develop its resources. ADNOC will retain the remaining 60% stake in the concession.

The Moroccan government is on its way to privatise several assets including the 384 MW Tahaddart gas-fired power plant near the city of Asilah. The facility currently belongs to Morocco’s Energie Electrique de Tahaddart (EET), which was added to the list of companies slated for privatisation in November 2018.

Japanese utility Tokyo Gas and RWE’s trading arm RWE Supply & Trading have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual cooperation in the area of LNG sourcing. The first concrete step of the agreement includes a framework for cost reduction through LNG shipping and trading optimisation utilising the US LNG fuel procured by Tokyo Gas.

The Californian Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved four lithium-ion (LiOn) battery energy storage projects for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to replace retiring gas generators, along with the associated power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Australia’s state of New South Wales (NSW) has issued plans to invest AUD2.6bn (US$1.9bn) to develop additional transmission capacity and to accelerate the development of wind and solar power projects. This announcement comes as the development of renewable renewable energy projects is stumbling upon congestion on transmission networks,…

French oil and gas company Total has announced plans to drill 13 new wells in the Block 17 license offshore Angola in order to increase its production by another 70,000 bbl/d in 2020-2021, of which 7 wells for the CLOV Phase 2 project (first oil in 2020, production plateau of 40,000 bbl/d) and 6 wells for the Dalia Phase 3 project (first oil in 2021, production plateau of 30,000 bbl/d).

Project company Qua Iboe power plant Limited (QIPPL) has unveiled plans to invest around US$1bn in the 567 MW Qua Iboe gas-fired power plant project in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom state (Nigeria). The project also entails the construction of a 58 km long 330 kV double circuit transmission line from the power plant site to an existing sub-station in Ikot Abasi (Ibom state),…

Thailand’s energy producer Gulf Energy Development (Gulf) and the Public Japanese conglomerate Mitsui have agreed to start works on the 2,500 Chonburi combined-cycle (CCGT) power plant in the Chonburi province of Thailand before the end of 2018.. Approximately JPY170bn (US$1.5bn) will be invested in the project,…