PV Coal officials sign contract to buy coal from Australian partner.— Photo Pvcoal.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — PetroVietnam plans to import 12 million tonnes of coal for its thermal plants, the group's Coal Import and Supply Company (PVCoal) said on its website.

PVCoal, which provides the materials for the group's thermal plants, noted it has signed long-term coal-offtake frame agreements with Australian and Indonesian miners to buy their coal from 2014.

The imports, according to a recent Thoi bao Kinh te Sai Gon (Saigon Economic Times) newspaper report, will help prepare for the operation of the Vung Ang 1 and Thai Binh 2 thermal power plants.

The newspaper claimed Vung Ang Thermal Power Plant 1 officially joined the national grid in December 2013 and will start commercial operations this April. The plant has a capacity of two 600 MW turbines that currently use coal from mines in the northern Quang Ninh Province. The group estimates that within the next four years, local mines will no longer be able to meet the demand of the plant.

Meanwhile, the Thai Binh 2 plant has a total capacity of 1,200 MW and needs three million tonnes of coal per year, which will add further pressure to domestic coal resources.

PVCoal said the thermal plants of Song Hau1, Long Phu1, Long Phu 3 and Quang Trach 1 will use the imported coal, adding that it will also invest in the coal mines in Australia, Indonesia and Russia to better meet local demand.— VNS