Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son on August 4 signed Prime Ministerial Decision No. 1654/QD-TTg, approving the task of revising the National Energy Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050.

The decision sets out the core principles and objectives for updating Vietnam's long-term energy strategy.

The scope of the National Energy Plan covers key sub-sectors including oil and gas, coal, electricity, and new and renewable energy. It encompasses the entire value chain, from initial surveys, exploration, and extraction to production, storage, distribution, and end-use.

The revision will be guided by several key principles:

The plan emphasizes that energy development must be one step ahead of and aligned with the country's socio-economic development strategy. It calls for a sustainable and optimized overall energy system, continuing to diversify energy sources to ensure a stable and sufficient supply that meets the demands of national industrialization and modernization in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The strategy mandates the rational and efficient exploration, processing, and use of domestic energy resources. This will be balanced with energy imports to conserve national resources and guarantee long-term energy security.

Furthermore, the revision will promote a competitive energy market with diverse ownership and business models to best serve consumer interests. It calls for the rapid phasing out of subsidies and the eventual elimination of social policies implemented through energy pricing.

The plan calls for the synchronized, harmonious, and rational development of all energy systems—electricity, oil and gas, coal, and renewables—with logical distribution across the country's regions.

It will also promote the application of advancements from the knowledge economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution to enhance energy efficiency, conservation, and business performance, continually improving the quality of energy supply and services.

Crucially, the plan mandates that energy development must be intrinsically linked to environmental protection. The goal is to ensure the energy sector grows in a green and sustainable manner, contributing to an effective national response to climate change.