‘Exxon eyes gas power plants in boost to US trade’

Bloomberg

Vietnam said Exxon Mobil Corp is considering investments in the nation’s power sector, a move that would support trade with the US and open a potential new frontier for the upstream-focused oil and gas major.
The Texas-based company is weighing stakes in two power plants and the gas import infrastructure to feed them, as well as in the oil refining sector, according to a post on a central government website, citing a phone call between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Irtiza Sayyed, Singapore-based president of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development Inc.
The prime minister said shipments of American natural gas would “help create harmonious trade balance between Vietnam and US” Exxon’s investment would also contribute to relations between the countries, especially as 2020 marks the 25th anniversary
of reestablishing diplomatic ties. Exxon declined to comment.
The US has sided with Vietnam in its growing tensions with China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s claims overlap with several neighbouring nations. Exxon holds a major stake in Vietnam’s largest offshore energy project, and the government in Hanoi last year tried
to tamp down speculation the US giant planned to divest amid pressure from Beijing.