Tuesday, December 20, 2016

PNOC mulls options for sale of banked gas



By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 13, 2016 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - State-run Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) is exploring several options for the government’s unused Malampaya natural gas, more commonly known as banked gas, its top official said.
PNOC president Reuben Lista said the government’s share of banked gas will still be sold but the state-run firm is looking at other options to use the fuel.
“Of course we are selling but we are also studying some options like using it for our new LNG power plants or as an equity for other joint projects for energy,” he said.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi announced earlier the government is eyeing to build a 200-megawatt (MW) LNG plant in Batangas to provide an emergency source of power when the Luzon grid loses supply due to plant outages.
The Malampaya project, which supplies natural gas fuel to three major power plants in Luzon, is expected to be depleted by 2024.
The banked gas—which was paid by government for future use—is stored in the reservoir of the Malampaya project and is owned by PNOC.
Originally, the government designated the banked gas as reserves for future use, particularly by the 1,200-MW Ilijan natural gas plant in Batangas, when the Malampaya gas supply runs out.
However, the government decided to sell the banked gas to power generation companies to augment power supply and avoid electricity shortage.
Earlier this year, PNOC, with its partner Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX), partially sold its banked gas through an auction, where Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. won the bidding.
PNOC has a 150-MW banked gas, while SPEX’s banked gas also amounts to 150 MW.
PNOC, through subsidiary PNOC-Exploration Corp., and SPEX are partners in the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project. Another partner in the project is Chevron Malampaya LLC.

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