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Higher price for Mekong Basin gas
PetroVietnam will increase the cost charged to power plants for natural gas from the offshore fields of the Cuu Long Basin from the current US$2 per one million British thermal units (BTUs) to $2.98 per 1 million BTUs, effective June 1, under a new price structure approved by the Prime Mininister.
Accordingly, gas from the basin will be increased to $3.55 per million BTUs, effective March 1, 2010, bringing it to the same level as gas exploited from the Nam Con Son Basin.
The price increases will hike costs to southern power plants by more than $13 million in 2009 and will have a significant impact on the operating costs of such gas-fired power plants as the 900MW Phu My No 1 power plant.
PetroVietnam sought Government approval for the higher prices to cover its own surging maintenance costs and to pay for needed infrastructure investments. The group has also seen its own taxes rise from $0.05/cu.m in 2008 to $0.072/cu.m this year.
In addition, gas exploited from the Cuu Long Basin has remained cheaper than that from other gas fields, although the volume of gas from the basin is not large, expected to account for about 8.76 per cent of the nation’s total gas production in 2009 and 5.8 per cent in 2010.
The new price structure was proposed jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in April. Both ministries said the new prices would conform to the Government’s road map for power costs in 2009.
vietnamnews
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