During a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung and Petronas president and CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik discussed opportunities to strengthen Vietnam–Malaysia energy cooperation amid the global energy transition and growing regional energy security demands, according to a statement by state-owned PetroVietnam.
During the meeting, the Petronas CEO noted that the global energy market remains volatile due to geopolitical tensions and supply competition.
This has kept energy costs high, necessitating stronger ties and cooperation among ASEAN countries to enhance their ability to respond to market shocks, the statement said.
Building on the memorandum of understanding between Petronas and PetroVietnam in 2023, both sides are exploring broader cooperation in oil and gas and LNG, renewable energy and offshore wind, regional energy infrastructure connectivity, and technology development and human resource training, the statement said.
“With Vietnam’s strengths in offshore wind and refining, alongside Malaysia’s expertise in LNG and upstream operations, the partnership is expected to create new momentum for regional energy cooperation and sustainable development,” the statement added.
In April 2025, Petronas delivered the first LNG cargo to PetroVietnam Gas, a unit of PetroVietnam.
Petronas shipped the cargo from its giant Bintulu LNG complex in Sarawak to the PetroVietnam Gas-operated Thi Vai LNG terminal in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.
PetroVietnam Gas recently increased regasification capacity at its Thi Vai LNG import terminal.
The company said the test results confirmed that the system maintains safe and stable operations at 288 tons per hour, exceeding the initial design capacity of 171 tons per hour and equivalent to approximately 9.5 million standard cubic meters per day.
Launched in 2023, Vietnam’s first LNG import facility comprises one 180,000-cbm LNG tank, a jetty, and a regasification area.
The facility supplies natural gas to PetoVietnam Power’s Nhon Trach 3 and 4 LNG power plants.
PV Power launched commercial operations at its LNG power plants in December last year.
Vietnam’s first LNG power plants have a total capacity of 1.6 GW.
