EnergyOMNI's Perspectives｜Vietnam and Russia Deepen Energy Cooperation; Russian Firm Plans to Develop 1GW Offshore Wind Project in Vietnam

Edited by EnergyOMNI

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid an official visit to Russia from March 22 to 25, at a time when the Middle East conflict has triggered a global energy crisis. During the visit, Vietnam and Russia signed multiple cooperation agreements in the energy sector, covering oil field development, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and nuclear power. Offshore wind power is also expected to become the next area of cooperation.

Russian state-owned oil and gas company Zarubezhneft has maintained cooperation with the Vietnam National Industry – Energy Group (Petrovietnam) over the past more than four decades, alongside their joint ventures Vietsovpetro in Vietnam and Rusvietpetro in Russia, focusing on geological exploration and oil and gas exploitation. Zarubezhneft proposed expanding collaboration with Vietnamese partners in new areas, including the development of an offshore wind energy project.

Pham welcomed Zarubezhneft's proposal to implement an offshore wind energy development programme in Vietnam, urging the company to coordinate closely with its partners to further refine the proposal for submission to the relevant authorities of both countries for consideration and decision.

In April 2024, Pham Minh Chinh met with the CEO of Zarubezhneft, Sergei Ivanovich Kudryashov. In addition to discussing bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector, they also addressed Zarubezhneft's interest in investing in Vietnam's offshore wind market, with the company seeking the Prime Minister's support in overcoming investment barriers.

When General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam visited Russia in May 2025, Zarubezhneft also proposed expanding its cooperation with Vietnam into renewable energy, including offshore wind and green hydrogen.

Zarubezhneft and DEME Concessions Wind have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop and prepare to bid for offshore wind farm project in 2021. The proposed Vinh Phong project was estimated will cost $3.2 billion. The consortium plans to commission the project's first phase with 600 MW capacity by 2026 and the second phase with 400 MW capacity by 2030. However, the developer has not yet provided any updated timeline or planning details for the Vinh Phong offshore wind project.

Currently, Vietnam only has nearshore wind projects (within 6 nautical miles offshore), with a cumulative capacity of 875 MW, and has not developed substantial offshore wind projects. In 2025, Vietnam announced a revised Eighth National Power Development Plan (PDP8), targeting 6–17 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 113–139 GW by 2050. In 2025 Global Offshore Wind Report, GWEC assessed that Vietnam's 2030 target of 6 GW offshore wind is overly optimistic. Between 2031 and 2034, approximately 4.5 GW of offshore wind may be connected to the grid.