Identifying bottlenecks in energy transition

This morning, July 28, 2025, the 2025 Annual Oil, Gas and Energy Forum organized by the Vietnam Petroleum Association in coordination with the Vietnam National Energy and Industry Group ( Petrovietnam ) took place in Hanoi with the theme "Energy Transition: Vision and Action".

The forum took place in the context that Vietnam is resolutely realizing its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, in order to respond to global climate change and enhance competitiveness in the green supply chain, so it attracted the attention of policy-making agencies, international financial institutions, scientists and the business community.

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Thap, Chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association, affirmed that the Forum aims to promote the formation of a safe and integrated energy ecosystem, creating conditions for businesses - especially Petrovietnam - to develop sustainably.

In recent times, many of the Association's recommendations have been accepted and reflected in policy documents such as the amended Law on Petroleum (2022), the amended Law on Electricity (2024), Decree 56/2025/ND-CP and most recently Decree 100/2025/ND-CP. However, these adjustments are still not enough to comprehensively remove bottlenecks in investment and operation of energy projects.

Therefore, the Association will continue to accompany, contribute vision and action to contribute to effectively implementing the strategic goals of the Party, State and Government in the energy sector.

Presentation by Vietnam Petroleum Institute.

At the Forum, experts from inside and outside Petrovietnam and the Vietnam Petroleum Association deeply analyzed the challenges in mobilizing resources for energy transition, especially institutional gaps and financial barriers.

Three main bottlenecks were identified: the electricity price mechanism does not accurately reflect investment risks and costs; the power purchase agreement (PPA) lacks commitments to offtake and foreign currency guarantees; and the lack of a legal framework for green finance and carbon markets.

From a policy perspective, key recommendations include: legalizing green finance, standardizing investment norms for new technology, designing flexible PPAs by region - technology - scale, with key projects requiring realistic reference prices and clear underwriting mechanisms.

Presentation by Strategy Board, Petrovietnam.

Petrovietnam member units proposed to synchronously complete the electricity price mechanism, PPAs, carbon credits and service infrastructure, to promote effective and sustainable energy transition. Petrovietnam affirmed its readiness to pioneer in creating a new energy ecosystem and proactively coordinate to propose institutional improvements.

Experts also said that it is necessary to soon promulgate the Green Finance Law, a legal framework for specific PPAs and the domestic carbon market; develop a set of investment norms according to new technology to support credit and risk assessment; strengthen the State's coordinating role through public financial institutions and risk guarantee mechanisms for new energy projects; in particular, propose to soon complete the direct power purchase mechanism (DPPA) between LNG power plants and large consumers to remove the bottleneck of electricity purchase for EVN and ministries and branches for BOT power projects, in order to create conditions for customers to have a basis to declare the energy source that creates their products (similar to the origin of goods).

This mechanism is especially important for large-scale LNG power plants, which require a commitment to purchase electricity from industrial customers who need clean, stable, and internationally-standard electricity for export production.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/diem-mat-nhung-diem-nghen-trong-chuyen-dich-nang-luong-d342373.html