By
Lenie Lectura - December 10, 2017
A top official of
Pilipinas Shell said a renewable-energy (RE) unit could be put up next year.
“We are in the process
of setting it up. Maybe next year, it should be ongoing,” said company
president Cesar Romero, who added that “Shell group, Shell International,” in
particular, “plus a local partner,” will put up the RE firm.
Romero said it is a
challenge to set up a company with partners involved “because we are foreign,
we need a 60-percent Filipino partner. You have to work with a partner, come up
with a JV [joint-venture] arrangement.”
He said discussions are
being held with a prospective local partner.
“When you set up a
company with partners, it’s a bit tricky,” Romero added. One intent of the RE
venture is to differentiate itself from other RE providers, he explained.
“The vision is not
necessarily anchored on setting up a generation facility but a combination of
hybrid RE,” Romero said. “It’s a blended energy with renewable component. It’s
not only going to be solar. We won’t be traditional solar installer.”
Shell has recently
informed the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) it is joining the
RE bandwagon soon.
“Shell will enter the
RE sector,” NREB Chairman Jose Layug announced in October. “They will start vey
soon. It’s high time they did it. We welcome this,” Layug added in an interview
when asked to elaborate on Shell’s plans.
No particular RE power
source was committed to NREB, Layug said, adding that Shell is “open to any RE”
and that “they will start looking for potential RE source.”
RE includes solar,
hydro and wind, among others.
Shell had earlier
announced that it was exploring various business models in preparation for its
new investment in RE, following its parent firm’s announcement that it has
established a separate division, New Energies, as a conduit to invest in
renewable and low-carbon power.
“We believe we need to
make a contribution toward a sustainable future. Part of that thrust is going
toward low-carbon footprint,” Romero earlier said. “Oil will continue to
play an important role. We are also pushing gas extensively.”
The oil business of the
company is under Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.
Meanwhile, Shell
Philippines Exploration BV is the upstream company of Shell in the Philippines
in charge of operating the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project.
The Malampaya gas field
in offshore Palawan supplies natural gas to two more power plants in Luzon—the
1,000-MW Santa Rita and the 500-MW San Lorenzo power plants, both owned by the
Lopez group.
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