Published
By (Reuters)
The Philippines is
aiming to next year award the permit to build and operate the country’s first
facility for receiving and distributing liquefied natural gas, its energy
secretary said on Tuesday.
The project, estimated
to cost $2 billion, comes as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to replace
depleting local gas reserves that now produce around a fifth of its power.
Dozens of domestic and
foreign companies are looking to get a stake in the project, including
investors from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, Energy Secretary Alfonso
Cusi told reporters.
To ensure the project’s
viability, Cusi said the government intended to initially allow only one such
LNG facility, with state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) holding a
minimum stake of 10 percent.
“More than 50
(companies) have signified to PNOC their intent to participate in the project,”
Cusi said after issuing new regulations that he hopes will smooth the
development of both the facility and the wider LNG sector in the Philippines.
“This long-awaited
circular (on the new rules) will guide all the players to ensure one common
standard, safety in transport, in distribution, in all aspects, and to make
sure that the interests of consumers are protected,” he said.
Construction of the
project, which includes a 5 million tonnes-per-annum storage facility, will
take about 30 months to complete, Cusi added.
“We want it up and
running in three years … We won’t wait for the Malampaya contract to expire.”
The country’s key
Malampaya gas field is expected to be depleted in seven years. Operated by a
unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, it fuels utilities producing about 40 percent of
power supply for the main Luzon island, home to the capital Manila.
In July, a senior PNOC
executive said the company was looking at a project that includes storage,
regasification and distribution facilities and a 200-megawatt power plant, which
could be upgraded to a 1,000-MW capacity.
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