Published November 13, 2020, 2:50 PM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/13/meralco-targets-full-power-restoration-by-sunday/
To finally break off the brownouts’ agony of roughly half-a-million more of its customers, power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) indicated that it will target full electricity service restoration by Sunday (November 15).
Meralco Spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga stated that it will be a grueling work ahead for their crews and technical personnel, especially in areas submerged in floodwater, but he said they will step up on their repair works in the coming days.
“It’s tough to say, but hopefully by Sunday we would be able to go back to normal operations,” he stressed, when asked on a timeframe on the return of power supply in all affected homes and establishments within their franchise area.
He explained that “restoration may take a little longer for areas with severe flooding and where Meralco’s distribution facilities sustained heavy damages such as toppled poles, downed wires and damaged transformers.”
Nevertheless, the Meralco executive gave word that “our line crews will continue with the restoration works,” as he appealed to their customers for understanding and patience, especially on the pace of repair works being carried out in severely affected areas.
As of noon on Friday (November 13), Meralco reported that the magnitude of its customers still experiencing brownouts had been at 477,451- which entailed that the power firm already brought back electricity services to more than 3.3 million subscribers out of the 3.8 million affected at the height of typhoon Ulysses’ battering.
In Metro Manila, customers that have yet to regain their power back stood at 80,955 and the bulk had been in heavily flooded Marikina with 52,997 customers still without electricity. The others are in Quezon City, San Juan, Pasig, Valenzuela, Malabon,Taguig, Makati, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Manila, Paranaque, Pasay, Navotas, Pateros and Mandaluyong.
The other Meralco-served areas still wrought with disrupted electricity services had been those in: Bulacan for 282 customers; Cavite for 283 customers; Rizal for 43,321 customers; Laguna for 6,007 customers; Quezon province for 1,581 customers; Batangas for 33 customers; and Pampanga which just had one customer left without power.
On the part of the regional power utilities, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) reported that 34 ECs in 24 provinces had been adversely affected by the recent weather disturbance – and these were in Regions I, II, III, the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (CALABARZON) region, Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan (MIMAROPA), Region V and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
The specific electric cooperatives affected were those in: Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province, La Union, Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur in Region 1; Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya in Region II; Aurora, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales and Nueva Ecija in Region III.
The other provincial areas affected by the power outages were those in Quezon, Laguna, Batangas; Tablas Island in Romblon; Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay and Ticao Island in Masbate.
The electrification agency specified that the ECs in the provinces of Pangasinan, Aurora, Pampanga, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte had disrupted services because of unavailable transmission facilities.
For the Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative (ISELCO and Tarlac I Electric Cooperative, these already returned to normal operations after a brief service disruption during the typhoon.
Monday, November 16, 2020
Thursday, November 12, 2020
DOE reviews Chevron’s sale of Malampaya stake
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - November 12, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/12/2056209/doe-reviews-chevrons-sale-malampaya-stake
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is reviewing the sale of Chevron Malampaya LLC's stake in the Malampaya deep water-to-gas power project to a unit of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group.
“The acquisition of the Chevron Malampaya shares is currently under evaluation by the DOE to determine the technical, financial and legal capacity of the transferee,” DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III said in a Senate hearing Tuesday.
Undenna subsidiary UC Malampaya Philippines Pte. Ltd. (UCMPPL) in March said that it has completed the acquisition of Chevron’s 45 percent stake in the Malampaya project.
While the transaction was completed in March, Pulido said the DOE only received in October a letter from Malampaya operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) endorsing Chevron Malampaya's request for the approval of the transfer of participating interest to UCMPPL, as well as the request for the change of Chevron's name to UC38 LLC.
Under Department Circular 2007-04-003, it is the service contract holder that can endorse any such transfer and seek for the approval of the DOE.
The DC prescribes the guidelines and procedures for the transfer of rights and obligations in petroleum service contracts under Presidential Decree 87.
In August, the DOE wrote to SPEX enjoining the operator to submit a request for the transfer of Chevron’s 45 percent stake.
Pulido said that the petroleum industry is a very technical sector that requires a lot of expertise and experience.
“Malampaya is an offshore facility that's worth a lot of money. It’s critical for the government to ensure that any potential transfer would be transferred to an entity that has a similar background, similar experience and similar capacity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pulido emphasized that no violation was committed by Chevron and UCMPPL in proceeding with their transaction before being evaluated by the DOE, with the DOE approval not stated in sale purchase agreement between the two parties.
“There’s no violation because we understand the nature of the joint operating agreement within the parties. Before any sale would proceed, the joint operating agreement requires them to first get the consent of other members of the consortium and at the same time, to offer the other members of the consortium their right to match the offer,” Pulido said.
“And so in view of DOE, we would have to wait for all of those events to take place before an actual ‘sale’ can be considered and evaluated by the DOE,” he said.
In the event that the UCMPPL does not pass the DOE's evaluation, Pulido said the DOE would not recognize the transfer of the 45 percent stake and would ask Chevron to look for another purchaser that has the appropriate technical, legal financial capability.
Operating since 2001, the Malampaya offshore platform and onshore gas plant are key installations to the nation’s energy security. Malampaya is the only local producer of indigenous natural gas, supplying up to 40 percent of Luzon's electricity needs.
The Malampaya contract will expire in 2024.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/12/2056209/doe-reviews-chevrons-sale-malampaya-stake
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is reviewing the sale of Chevron Malampaya LLC's stake in the Malampaya deep water-to-gas power project to a unit of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group.
“The acquisition of the Chevron Malampaya shares is currently under evaluation by the DOE to determine the technical, financial and legal capacity of the transferee,” DOE Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III said in a Senate hearing Tuesday.
Undenna subsidiary UC Malampaya Philippines Pte. Ltd. (UCMPPL) in March said that it has completed the acquisition of Chevron’s 45 percent stake in the Malampaya project.
While the transaction was completed in March, Pulido said the DOE only received in October a letter from Malampaya operator Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) endorsing Chevron Malampaya's request for the approval of the transfer of participating interest to UCMPPL, as well as the request for the change of Chevron's name to UC38 LLC.
Under Department Circular 2007-04-003, it is the service contract holder that can endorse any such transfer and seek for the approval of the DOE.
The DC prescribes the guidelines and procedures for the transfer of rights and obligations in petroleum service contracts under Presidential Decree 87.
In August, the DOE wrote to SPEX enjoining the operator to submit a request for the transfer of Chevron’s 45 percent stake.
Pulido said that the petroleum industry is a very technical sector that requires a lot of expertise and experience.
“Malampaya is an offshore facility that's worth a lot of money. It’s critical for the government to ensure that any potential transfer would be transferred to an entity that has a similar background, similar experience and similar capacity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pulido emphasized that no violation was committed by Chevron and UCMPPL in proceeding with their transaction before being evaluated by the DOE, with the DOE approval not stated in sale purchase agreement between the two parties.
“There’s no violation because we understand the nature of the joint operating agreement within the parties. Before any sale would proceed, the joint operating agreement requires them to first get the consent of other members of the consortium and at the same time, to offer the other members of the consortium their right to match the offer,” Pulido said.
“And so in view of DOE, we would have to wait for all of those events to take place before an actual ‘sale’ can be considered and evaluated by the DOE,” he said.
In the event that the UCMPPL does not pass the DOE's evaluation, Pulido said the DOE would not recognize the transfer of the 45 percent stake and would ask Chevron to look for another purchaser that has the appropriate technical, legal financial capability.
Operating since 2001, the Malampaya offshore platform and onshore gas plant are key installations to the nation’s energy security. Malampaya is the only local producer of indigenous natural gas, supplying up to 40 percent of Luzon's electricity needs.
The Malampaya contract will expire in 2024.
First Gen earnings drop 12% in 9 months
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - November 12, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/12/2056205/first-gen-earnings-drop-12-9-months
MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led First Gen Corp. reported a 12 percent drop in its recurring net income in three quarters mainly due to lower electricity sales.
In a disclosure to the Philipine Stock Exchange, First Gen said recurring net income attributable to equity holders in the nine-month period amounted to P9.6 billion, lower than the P11.3 billion posted in the same period last year.
The company said First Gen LNG, its natural gas platform, registered an 11 percent decrease in recurring earnings to P6.8 billion, mainly due to planned outages and the lower dispatch of the 420 megawatt (MW) San Gabriel and the 100-MW Avion natural gas-fired power plants.
Similarly, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) also saw lower recurring earnings during the period to P3.3 billion from P3.5 billion a year ago.
“The renewable company actually reported a higher taxable income as it incurred lower operating expenses and lower interest expenses. The positive income was offset by higher tax payments,” the company said.
Meanwhile, First Gen Hydro Power Corp.’s recurring earnings fell 76 percent to P200 million from P700 million, mainly due to lower prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), but was mildly offset by higher ancillary service sales.
Consolidated revenues from the sale of electricity declined by 16 percent to P68.6 billion from P84.2 billion in the same period last year.
The firm’s natural gas portfolio, which accounted for 60 percent of total consolidated revenues, posted a 19 percent decline due to lower average natural gas prices coupled with a decline in the plants’ dispatch
“The Avion power plant did, however, generate fresh revenues from its ancillary service sales,” the company said.
Geothermal, wind and solar revenues from EDC, on the other hand, accounted for 37 percent of consolidated revenues at P25.4 billion. This is lower than the P28.5 billion registered in the same period last year.
Moreover, First Gen Hydro, owner of the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plants, saw a 31 percent decline in its revenues to P1.3 billion, less than the P1.9 billion last year.
“The growth in power demand understandably did not materialize and it affected power prices. We did see a recovery in power demand this third quarter as conditions eased and we expect this positive trend to continue as the economy slowly recovers from the effects of the lockdowns,” First Gen president and COO Francis Giles Puno said.
Despite the lower overall financial performance in nine months, First Gen emphasized that it remains focused on pursuing its liquified natural gas (LNG) initiatives that seek the entry and ready access of affordable LNG supply from other gas-producing countries.
“First Gen is gaining a lot of positive momentum in developing its LNG platform. We very much appreciate receiving the DOE’s approval of the Permit to Construct, Expand, Rehabilitate and Modify for the construction of an Interim Offshore LNG Terminal (IOT) project in the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas last September,”Puno said.
“Needless to say, we are a believer in the growth and potential of the country despite the challenges we have all recently undergone,” he said.
First Gen has signed a joint cooperation agreement with Tokyo Gas for the development of the IOT project and has selected McConell Dowell as the preferred tenderer for the EPC of the IOT project.
The company operates 3,492 MW of clean, low-carbon and renewable energy portfolio.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/12/2056205/first-gen-earnings-drop-12-9-months
MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led First Gen Corp. reported a 12 percent drop in its recurring net income in three quarters mainly due to lower electricity sales.
In a disclosure to the Philipine Stock Exchange, First Gen said recurring net income attributable to equity holders in the nine-month period amounted to P9.6 billion, lower than the P11.3 billion posted in the same period last year.
The company said First Gen LNG, its natural gas platform, registered an 11 percent decrease in recurring earnings to P6.8 billion, mainly due to planned outages and the lower dispatch of the 420 megawatt (MW) San Gabriel and the 100-MW Avion natural gas-fired power plants.
Similarly, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) also saw lower recurring earnings during the period to P3.3 billion from P3.5 billion a year ago.
“The renewable company actually reported a higher taxable income as it incurred lower operating expenses and lower interest expenses. The positive income was offset by higher tax payments,” the company said.
Meanwhile, First Gen Hydro Power Corp.’s recurring earnings fell 76 percent to P200 million from P700 million, mainly due to lower prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), but was mildly offset by higher ancillary service sales.
Consolidated revenues from the sale of electricity declined by 16 percent to P68.6 billion from P84.2 billion in the same period last year.
The firm’s natural gas portfolio, which accounted for 60 percent of total consolidated revenues, posted a 19 percent decline due to lower average natural gas prices coupled with a decline in the plants’ dispatch
“The Avion power plant did, however, generate fresh revenues from its ancillary service sales,” the company said.
Geothermal, wind and solar revenues from EDC, on the other hand, accounted for 37 percent of consolidated revenues at P25.4 billion. This is lower than the P28.5 billion registered in the same period last year.
Moreover, First Gen Hydro, owner of the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plants, saw a 31 percent decline in its revenues to P1.3 billion, less than the P1.9 billion last year.
“The growth in power demand understandably did not materialize and it affected power prices. We did see a recovery in power demand this third quarter as conditions eased and we expect this positive trend to continue as the economy slowly recovers from the effects of the lockdowns,” First Gen president and COO Francis Giles Puno said.
Despite the lower overall financial performance in nine months, First Gen emphasized that it remains focused on pursuing its liquified natural gas (LNG) initiatives that seek the entry and ready access of affordable LNG supply from other gas-producing countries.
“First Gen is gaining a lot of positive momentum in developing its LNG platform. We very much appreciate receiving the DOE’s approval of the Permit to Construct, Expand, Rehabilitate and Modify for the construction of an Interim Offshore LNG Terminal (IOT) project in the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas last September,”Puno said.
“Needless to say, we are a believer in the growth and potential of the country despite the challenges we have all recently undergone,” he said.
First Gen has signed a joint cooperation agreement with Tokyo Gas for the development of the IOT project and has selected McConell Dowell as the preferred tenderer for the EPC of the IOT project.
The company operates 3,492 MW of clean, low-carbon and renewable energy portfolio.
Foreign mining firms eye Philippines
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - November 12, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/12/2056207/foreign-mining-firms-eye-philippines
MANILA, Philippines — Foreign groups are closely looking at the Philippine mining industry as the government considers the sector as a major contributor to economic recovery.
In a virtual forum Wednesday, the Philippine Mining and Exploration Association (PMEA) said international and local firms are now revisiting their prospects as the mineral industry has not been severely affected by the coronavirus disease outbreak.
“We have a number of foreign companies looking at the Philippines right now. They believe that most companies have weathered the storm of COVID,” PMEA president Joey Ayson said.
While Ayson did not go into specifics, he said more investments in mining would help move the economy.
He said the market is just waiting for some policy changes to further attract foreign investments.
“Metal prices have gone up and what most companies are doing right now is that they are revisiting strategies in light of COVID,” Ayson said.
“We have the chance to walk the talk as mining is one of the industries that will provide revenues post-pandemic,” he said.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Wilfredo Moncano said the government continues to look for ways to help in the economic recovery, including supporting existing metallic and non-metallic mines.
“We are also targeting new approvals of MPSA (mineral production sharing agreement) provided there will be support to amend EO 79, as well as those suspended mines to resume operations,” Moncano said.
He said the MGB is looking at more Minahang Bayan approvals and the renewal of pending applications under the Office of the President.
Issued in 2010, Executive Order 79 put a moratorium on new mineral agreements pending a new fiscal regime for the industry.
Ayson said the government should particularly look at EO 79 and the existing ban on open pit mining.
“We just need a little bit more push right now, policies need to be revised and looked at,” he said.
Chamber of Mines of the Philippines executive director Ronald Recidoro echoed the same sentiment especially that a positive development is projected for the industry in the near term.
“We have trillions of pesos of resources underground. This is the last card of the government to help recover. We need to revive the industry and we need to do it right,” Recidoro said.
“And I think we are on the right track, the moratorium has been there for 10 years now and since then, the industry has been improving standards, transparency and environmental protection,” he said.
Meralco wants review of Malampaya pricing
posted November 11, 2020 at 08:15 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/339274/meralco-wants-review-of-malampaya-pricing.html
Power retailer Manila Electric Co. called for a review of the pricing mechanism of the Malampaya gas-to-power project in northwest Palawan to reduce foreign exchange exposure and oil price volatilities.
“In the ongoing discussions regarding Malampaya supply, we respectfully recommend that pricing be reviewed to reduce exposure to foreign exchange and world oil prices, so that the country may more fully benefit from the indigenous nature of the fuel,” Meralco head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said a Senate hearing on the Malampaya gas project Tuesday.
Fernandez said Meralco recognizes the strategic value of an indigenous source of energy like the Malampaya natural gas. “Meralco, along with NPC [National Power Corp.] in the 1990s provided the guaranteed or take-or-pay market for the gas-to-power projects that underpinned the Malampaya project,” he said.
Fernandez said while natural gas from Malampaya accounted for around 29 percent of power generation in Luzon, it represented about 50 percent of Meralco’s supply to its captive market.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/339274/meralco-wants-review-of-malampaya-pricing.html
Power retailer Manila Electric Co. called for a review of the pricing mechanism of the Malampaya gas-to-power project in northwest Palawan to reduce foreign exchange exposure and oil price volatilities.
“In the ongoing discussions regarding Malampaya supply, we respectfully recommend that pricing be reviewed to reduce exposure to foreign exchange and world oil prices, so that the country may more fully benefit from the indigenous nature of the fuel,” Meralco head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said a Senate hearing on the Malampaya gas project Tuesday.
Fernandez said Meralco recognizes the strategic value of an indigenous source of energy like the Malampaya natural gas. “Meralco, along with NPC [National Power Corp.] in the 1990s provided the guaranteed or take-or-pay market for the gas-to-power projects that underpinned the Malampaya project,” he said.
Fernandez said while natural gas from Malampaya accounted for around 29 percent of power generation in Luzon, it represented about 50 percent of Meralco’s supply to its captive market.
Pilipinas Shell incurs net loss of P13.9 billion
By Lenie Lectura November 11, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/11/pilipinas-shell-incurs-net-loss-of-p13-9-billion/
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (Pilipinas Shell) reported Wednesday a net loss of P13.9 billion in January to September from a net income of P4.4 billion in the same period a year ago.
The oil company mainly blamed the weak performance on the P7.5-billion one-off charges in the third quarter.
Excluding these one-off charges relating to its Tabangao refinery transformation, its net loss should have been P6.4 billion.
The oil firm earlier announced the cessation of its manufacturing operations and conversion of its refinery into an import facility.
Pilipinas Shell suffered P5.7 billion in inventory losses, it said.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the oil firm still posted savings of P2.5 billion by the end of the third quarter, exceeding its cash conservation target of P2 billion by year-end. Savings of P1.2 billion were generated from operating expense, with P1.3 billion from capital expenditure.
Pilipinas Shell said it remains optimistic as the country slowly relaxes quarantine restrictions.
“The wins are coming in gradually as more businesses operate at increased capacity in the areas of manufacturing and transportation, to name a few.
Our balance sheet, technical capability and resources are solid and serve us well in continuing to provide Filipinos with high-quality fuel products despite the challenging economic environment and to make the right sustainable decisions to protect the long-term interests of our shareholders,” said Cesar G. Romero, company president and CEO.
Pilipinas Shell’s 54ML-capacity terminal in Subic became operational last October to serve the demand of Northern Luzon, with the Tabangao Import Facility in Batangas serving Luzon and Northern Visayas, and the Northern Mindanao Import Facility in Cagayan De Oro serving the rest of the Visayas and Mindanao.
The company said it now has a more resilient network of three medium-range (MR) import terminals with sufficient finished products capacity to serve the demands of customers nationwide.
“The pandemic has forced us to rethink the way we do things, while ensuring the quality of service that Filipinos expect from us. Hence, we shifted our supply-chain strategy from manufacturing to full import-based operations to allow us to enhance our cost and supply-chain competitiveness, and leverage Shell’s portfolio of assets and highly competitive Global Products Trading Network.”
He added that the oil firm plans to re-invest at least P1 billion in the next few years to fully transform Tabangao into a world-class import facility that will support its marketing growth aspirations.
Pilipinas Shell continues to expand its retail network, with 1,135 sites nationwide to date.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/11/pilipinas-shell-incurs-net-loss-of-p13-9-billion/
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (Pilipinas Shell) reported Wednesday a net loss of P13.9 billion in January to September from a net income of P4.4 billion in the same period a year ago.
The oil company mainly blamed the weak performance on the P7.5-billion one-off charges in the third quarter.
Excluding these one-off charges relating to its Tabangao refinery transformation, its net loss should have been P6.4 billion.
The oil firm earlier announced the cessation of its manufacturing operations and conversion of its refinery into an import facility.
Pilipinas Shell suffered P5.7 billion in inventory losses, it said.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the oil firm still posted savings of P2.5 billion by the end of the third quarter, exceeding its cash conservation target of P2 billion by year-end. Savings of P1.2 billion were generated from operating expense, with P1.3 billion from capital expenditure.
Pilipinas Shell said it remains optimistic as the country slowly relaxes quarantine restrictions.
“The wins are coming in gradually as more businesses operate at increased capacity in the areas of manufacturing and transportation, to name a few.
Our balance sheet, technical capability and resources are solid and serve us well in continuing to provide Filipinos with high-quality fuel products despite the challenging economic environment and to make the right sustainable decisions to protect the long-term interests of our shareholders,” said Cesar G. Romero, company president and CEO.
Pilipinas Shell’s 54ML-capacity terminal in Subic became operational last October to serve the demand of Northern Luzon, with the Tabangao Import Facility in Batangas serving Luzon and Northern Visayas, and the Northern Mindanao Import Facility in Cagayan De Oro serving the rest of the Visayas and Mindanao.
The company said it now has a more resilient network of three medium-range (MR) import terminals with sufficient finished products capacity to serve the demands of customers nationwide.
“The pandemic has forced us to rethink the way we do things, while ensuring the quality of service that Filipinos expect from us. Hence, we shifted our supply-chain strategy from manufacturing to full import-based operations to allow us to enhance our cost and supply-chain competitiveness, and leverage Shell’s portfolio of assets and highly competitive Global Products Trading Network.”
He added that the oil firm plans to re-invest at least P1 billion in the next few years to fully transform Tabangao into a world-class import facility that will support its marketing growth aspirations.
Pilipinas Shell continues to expand its retail network, with 1,135 sites nationwide to date.
PSALM seeks bids for Paco property
By Lenie Lectura November 11, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/11/psalm-seeks-bids-for-paco-property/
The property of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) in Paco, Manila, is now up for a negotiated bid.
The state firm has set the bid offer submission deadline on December 2 for the 20,975-square meter property, which is composed of eight lots. This used to be the site of the former Manila Thermal Power Plant in Isla de Provisor, Paco, Manila.
PSALM has set the minimum offer price at P458,337,002.30. This is now lower than the minimum bid price of P513,439,000 when the state firm held an auction last September.
The agency had said that in the event public bidding is declared a failure due to the participation of only one bidder, the lone bidder’s bid shall be considered an offer to buy the property through negotiated sale.
“The financial offer of the interested party with the highest offer must be equal to or higher than the minimum offer price in order to qualify as the winning interested party,” PSALM said.
The negotiation is open to any individuals, corporation, cooperatives or partnerships. Those who were previously disqualified from participating in other bidding or negotiated sale activities of PSALM are also disqualified to participate.
The state firm has set on November 19 the pre-negotiation conference.
The winning bidder shall pay for all taxes, fees and other charges due on the sale transaction.
Proceeds from the sale of PSALM’s assets will be used to augment funds to settle the state firm’s assumed financial obligations.
PSALM is the entity created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the law that restructured the power industry by privatizing the assets of the National Power Corp.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/11/psalm-seeks-bids-for-paco-property/
The property of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) in Paco, Manila, is now up for a negotiated bid.
The state firm has set the bid offer submission deadline on December 2 for the 20,975-square meter property, which is composed of eight lots. This used to be the site of the former Manila Thermal Power Plant in Isla de Provisor, Paco, Manila.
PSALM has set the minimum offer price at P458,337,002.30. This is now lower than the minimum bid price of P513,439,000 when the state firm held an auction last September.
The agency had said that in the event public bidding is declared a failure due to the participation of only one bidder, the lone bidder’s bid shall be considered an offer to buy the property through negotiated sale.
“The financial offer of the interested party with the highest offer must be equal to or higher than the minimum offer price in order to qualify as the winning interested party,” PSALM said.
The negotiation is open to any individuals, corporation, cooperatives or partnerships. Those who were previously disqualified from participating in other bidding or negotiated sale activities of PSALM are also disqualified to participate.
The state firm has set on November 19 the pre-negotiation conference.
The winning bidder shall pay for all taxes, fees and other charges due on the sale transaction.
Proceeds from the sale of PSALM’s assets will be used to augment funds to settle the state firm’s assumed financial obligations.
PSALM is the entity created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the law that restructured the power industry by privatizing the assets of the National Power Corp.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Gov’t dangles 8 ‘conditions’ in Malampaya license extension
Published November 11, 2020, 6:00 AM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/11/govt-dangles-8-conditions-in-malampaya-license-extension/
The Philippine government is dangling at least eight conditions that the consortium-members of Service Contract (SC) 38 led by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) must comply with for the license extension of the $4.5 billion Malampaya deep-water-gas to power project.
As fleshed out by Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III, these 8-point negotiating terms with the Malampaya consortium delve on: 1) the remaining reserves in the gas field; 2) the banked gas; 3) the development opportunity or the work program that will be necessary in order for the Department of Energy (DOE) to evaluate the proposals of the consortium-members; 4) the split or royalty sharing between the government and the project contractor; 5) the decommissioning plan; 6) the asset disposal; 7) the price of the gas in the event of license extension; and 8) the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that shall be carried out by the consortium.
“This proposal was necessary in our view, so the DOE and the members of the consortium would have a common ground on which topics to discuss; so that we – the department, could ensure that we can get the best terms for the national government,” Pulido said.
He similarly noted that based on preliminary studies and evaluations done by the DOE and the Malampaya consortium, the depletion of gas from the field may not happen until the next 6-7 years.
“The crux of the matter on why the negotiation for contract extension is significant – we all know that being a conventional source of energy, it would someday run out.
And that estimated run-out period would occur sometime in the second quarter of 2027,” Pulido specified.
The energy official highlighted that even if the Malampaya gas field will eventually have a new operator, it is the requirement of the government that the consortium-members will continually pursue development in the areas within SC 38 – including those in Malampaya East, Iloc, Nido and the Linapacan plays.
“All of these fields have varying possibilities of success in geological terms. The talk about the potential of each area and each one has its own estimated potential volume of petroleum – whether in the form of natural gas, condensate or oil,” Pulido pointed out.
In particular, he noted that prospects at Malampaya East had been estimated at 140 billion cubic feet; “and this is one of the areas that we’re hoping will be further developed within the service contract.”
Given the take-or-pay deals with off-taker power plants, Pulido indicated that the volume of production at Malampaya is at average 120 billion cubic feet annually – and the highest output it yielded so far was at 155 billion cubic feet in a year.
If reckoned from the field’s kick-off of commercial operations in 2001, the DOE official qualified that the magnitude of production would reach an aggregate 2.9 trillion cubic feet (TCF) up to 3.1 TCF throughout Malampaya’s life cycle.
And in order to facilitate the discussion on prospective stretched contract for Malampaya, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has created a team in October 2019 “that would work with the members of the consortium to discuss the license extension.”
At this stage though, the energy official specified that discussions are on hold, because the DOE is requiring first the submission of a four-year work program that will contain the plans of the consortium to drill within the classified retention and appraisal areas.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/11/govt-dangles-8-conditions-in-malampaya-license-extension/
The Philippine government is dangling at least eight conditions that the consortium-members of Service Contract (SC) 38 led by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) must comply with for the license extension of the $4.5 billion Malampaya deep-water-gas to power project.
As fleshed out by Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III, these 8-point negotiating terms with the Malampaya consortium delve on: 1) the remaining reserves in the gas field; 2) the banked gas; 3) the development opportunity or the work program that will be necessary in order for the Department of Energy (DOE) to evaluate the proposals of the consortium-members; 4) the split or royalty sharing between the government and the project contractor; 5) the decommissioning plan; 6) the asset disposal; 7) the price of the gas in the event of license extension; and 8) the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that shall be carried out by the consortium.
“This proposal was necessary in our view, so the DOE and the members of the consortium would have a common ground on which topics to discuss; so that we – the department, could ensure that we can get the best terms for the national government,” Pulido said.
He similarly noted that based on preliminary studies and evaluations done by the DOE and the Malampaya consortium, the depletion of gas from the field may not happen until the next 6-7 years.
“The crux of the matter on why the negotiation for contract extension is significant – we all know that being a conventional source of energy, it would someday run out.
And that estimated run-out period would occur sometime in the second quarter of 2027,” Pulido specified.
The energy official highlighted that even if the Malampaya gas field will eventually have a new operator, it is the requirement of the government that the consortium-members will continually pursue development in the areas within SC 38 – including those in Malampaya East, Iloc, Nido and the Linapacan plays.
“All of these fields have varying possibilities of success in geological terms. The talk about the potential of each area and each one has its own estimated potential volume of petroleum – whether in the form of natural gas, condensate or oil,” Pulido pointed out.
In particular, he noted that prospects at Malampaya East had been estimated at 140 billion cubic feet; “and this is one of the areas that we’re hoping will be further developed within the service contract.”
Given the take-or-pay deals with off-taker power plants, Pulido indicated that the volume of production at Malampaya is at average 120 billion cubic feet annually – and the highest output it yielded so far was at 155 billion cubic feet in a year.
If reckoned from the field’s kick-off of commercial operations in 2001, the DOE official qualified that the magnitude of production would reach an aggregate 2.9 trillion cubic feet (TCF) up to 3.1 TCF throughout Malampaya’s life cycle.
And in order to facilitate the discussion on prospective stretched contract for Malampaya, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has created a team in October 2019 “that would work with the members of the consortium to discuss the license extension.”
At this stage though, the energy official specified that discussions are on hold, because the DOE is requiring first the submission of a four-year work program that will contain the plans of the consortium to drill within the classified retention and appraisal areas.
DMCI income trimmed by 34% to P1.9 billion in Q3
Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star ) - November 11, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/11/2055952/dmci-income-trimmed-34-p19-billion-q3
MANILA, Philippines — DMCI Holdings Inc. (DMCI) reported a drop in its third quarter and nine month net income as businesses weakened during the period because of the impact of COVID-19.
Third quarter net income declined by 34 percent to P1.9 billion, while nine-month net income slowed down by 58 percent to P3.9 billion.
The Consunji-owned listed conglomerate attributed this to weak contributions from its integrated energy, construction and water businesses.
DMCI Holdings chairman and president Isidro Consunji said Semirara Mining and Power Corp. and DMCI were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We saw sharp drops in demand and prices for both coal and electricity because of the economic slowdown,” Consunji said.
“Construction earnings deteriorated because of lower productivity and extraordinary expenses related to the coronavirus,” he said.
Excluding non-recurring items, core net income for the third quarter slipped 27 percent to P1.9 billion.
Real estate arm DMCI Homes accounted for 55 percent of the consolidated profits as its third-quarter contributions surged 70 percent year-on-year to P1 billion.
Excluding P592 million in losses from sales cancellations for a DMCI Homes project, core net income declined by 52 percent from P9.3 billion to P4.5 billion. Consolidated revenues contracted by 33 percent to P43.9 billion from P65.9 billion.
By business segment, Semirara Mining’s nine-month net income plunged by 64 percent to P1.7 billion largely due to anemic market conditions and the imposition of coal import quotas in China last August.
DMCI Homes contributed P1.1 billion core income during the period, down 40 percent because of lower revenues due to the imposition of lockdowns which slowed down construction productivity.
D.M. Consunji Inc. booked a nine-month net loss of P97 million from a net income of P664 million because of expenses related to COVID-19, lower construction accomplishments due to the lockdowns and higher costs due to right-of-way issues for infrastructure projects.
Contributions from affiliate Maynilad fell 22 percent to P1.2 billion owing to lower commercial sales and average effective tariff, aggravated by higher amortization and depreciation expenses.
On the other hand, DMCI Power posted an 18-percent growth in earnings contributions to P403 million
from P341 million on the back of higher electricity sales and upward tariff adjustment for its Aborlan
power plant.
DMCI Mining’s income contributions rose 190 percent to P252 million.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/11/2055952/dmci-income-trimmed-34-p19-billion-q3
MANILA, Philippines — DMCI Holdings Inc. (DMCI) reported a drop in its third quarter and nine month net income as businesses weakened during the period because of the impact of COVID-19.
Third quarter net income declined by 34 percent to P1.9 billion, while nine-month net income slowed down by 58 percent to P3.9 billion.
The Consunji-owned listed conglomerate attributed this to weak contributions from its integrated energy, construction and water businesses.
DMCI Holdings chairman and president Isidro Consunji said Semirara Mining and Power Corp. and DMCI were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We saw sharp drops in demand and prices for both coal and electricity because of the economic slowdown,” Consunji said.
“Construction earnings deteriorated because of lower productivity and extraordinary expenses related to the coronavirus,” he said.
Excluding non-recurring items, core net income for the third quarter slipped 27 percent to P1.9 billion.
Real estate arm DMCI Homes accounted for 55 percent of the consolidated profits as its third-quarter contributions surged 70 percent year-on-year to P1 billion.
Excluding P592 million in losses from sales cancellations for a DMCI Homes project, core net income declined by 52 percent from P9.3 billion to P4.5 billion. Consolidated revenues contracted by 33 percent to P43.9 billion from P65.9 billion.
By business segment, Semirara Mining’s nine-month net income plunged by 64 percent to P1.7 billion largely due to anemic market conditions and the imposition of coal import quotas in China last August.
DMCI Homes contributed P1.1 billion core income during the period, down 40 percent because of lower revenues due to the imposition of lockdowns which slowed down construction productivity.
D.M. Consunji Inc. booked a nine-month net loss of P97 million from a net income of P664 million because of expenses related to COVID-19, lower construction accomplishments due to the lockdowns and higher costs due to right-of-way issues for infrastructure projects.
Contributions from affiliate Maynilad fell 22 percent to P1.2 billion owing to lower commercial sales and average effective tariff, aggravated by higher amortization and depreciation expenses.
On the other hand, DMCI Power posted an 18-percent growth in earnings contributions to P403 million
from P341 million on the back of higher electricity sales and upward tariff adjustment for its Aborlan
power plant.
DMCI Mining’s income contributions rose 190 percent to P252 million.
Meralco, Semirara cancel 700-MW coal plant venture
posted November 10, 2020 at 08:10 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/339179/meralco-semirara-cancel-700-mw-coal-plant-venture.html
Semirara Mining and Power Corp., Meralco Powergen Corp. and St. Raphael Power Generation Corp. terminated their joint venture agreement to construct a 700-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas.
SMPC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday the three parties agreed to terminate the joint venture agreement dated April 27, 2016 over construction, ownership and operation of a 700-MW coal power plant effective Nov. 9, 2020.
“SMPC shall reacquire all the equity shareholdings of MGen in SRPGC. SRPGC was originally a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMPC and by virtue of the JVA, the parties, SMPC and MGen have 50:50 equity ownership over SRPGC,” SMPC said.
SMPC is owned by the Consunji Group while Meralco PowerGen is the power generation arm of power retailer Manila Electric Co.
SMPC officials were unavailable for comment as of press time.
Meralco earlier signed a power supply agreement with SRPGC for the supply of up to 400 MW of capacity. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that energy companies should undergo a competitive selection process for the PSA, thereby nullifying the agreement.
The SRPGC coal project is one of the indicative power projects identified by the Department of Energy to support rising demand.
Data from the Energy Department showed that the project was supposed to start commercial operations by 2025, with the financial close dependent on the CSP of Meralco in the last quarter.
Meralco PowerGen president Rogelio Singson said the decision to terminate the agreement was made in the wake of the moratorium for new greenfield coal power plants.
“That is [moratorium] also included, due to our plan to transition to RE [renewable energy] resources,” Singson said.
The project’s commercial operation would be anchored on the completion of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ Calaca-Dasmarinas transmission line expansion project.
The proposed power plant is the third phase of the planned expansion of the Calaca coal-fired plant facility in Batangas.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier declared a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants following the periodic assessment of the country’s energy requirements.
Cusi said in a statement the Department of Energy’s most recent assessment revealed the need for the country to shift to a more flexible power supply mix.
DOE spokesman Felix William Fuentebella said coal projects listed under the department’s committed power projects were not included in the moratorium because they already secured endorsements.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/339179/meralco-semirara-cancel-700-mw-coal-plant-venture.html
Semirara Mining and Power Corp., Meralco Powergen Corp. and St. Raphael Power Generation Corp. terminated their joint venture agreement to construct a 700-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas.
SMPC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday the three parties agreed to terminate the joint venture agreement dated April 27, 2016 over construction, ownership and operation of a 700-MW coal power plant effective Nov. 9, 2020.
“SMPC shall reacquire all the equity shareholdings of MGen in SRPGC. SRPGC was originally a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMPC and by virtue of the JVA, the parties, SMPC and MGen have 50:50 equity ownership over SRPGC,” SMPC said.
SMPC is owned by the Consunji Group while Meralco PowerGen is the power generation arm of power retailer Manila Electric Co.
SMPC officials were unavailable for comment as of press time.
Meralco earlier signed a power supply agreement with SRPGC for the supply of up to 400 MW of capacity. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that energy companies should undergo a competitive selection process for the PSA, thereby nullifying the agreement.
The SRPGC coal project is one of the indicative power projects identified by the Department of Energy to support rising demand.
Data from the Energy Department showed that the project was supposed to start commercial operations by 2025, with the financial close dependent on the CSP of Meralco in the last quarter.
Meralco PowerGen president Rogelio Singson said the decision to terminate the agreement was made in the wake of the moratorium for new greenfield coal power plants.
“That is [moratorium] also included, due to our plan to transition to RE [renewable energy] resources,” Singson said.
The project’s commercial operation would be anchored on the completion of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ Calaca-Dasmarinas transmission line expansion project.
The proposed power plant is the third phase of the planned expansion of the Calaca coal-fired plant facility in Batangas.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier declared a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants following the periodic assessment of the country’s energy requirements.
Cusi said in a statement the Department of Energy’s most recent assessment revealed the need for the country to shift to a more flexible power supply mix.
DOE spokesman Felix William Fuentebella said coal projects listed under the department’s committed power projects were not included in the moratorium because they already secured endorsements.
Salceda lauds Philreca teams for working to restore Albay electricity
posted November 10, 2020 at 07:10 pm by Manila Standard Business
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/339156/salceda-lauds-philreca-teams-for-working-to-restore-albay-electricity.html
LEGAZPI CITY--Albay Second District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda recognized the “untiring efforts” by power teams from 11 electric cooperatives of the Philippine Rural Electrification Associations Inc., or Philreca Partylist, to help restore electricity in the province.
Super Typhoon Rolly struck Albay province and neighboring areas on All Saints Day, leaving a path of destruction that toppled power lines particularly in the first and third districts, which authorities say may take four to six months to rehabilitate.
Salceda said the Philreca teams now in Albay are composed of 97 linemen from DORELCO, LEYECO II, III, IV, V, BILECO and SOLECO in Leyte and; ESAMELCO, SAMELCO I, SAMELCO II and NORSAMELCO all in Samar province.
"We thank these teams which have pledged to dedicate one month of their time to help restore power in Albay, especially in our most priority facilities such as government, medical and commercial areas. The province’s power supply is being distributed by the Albay Power Electric Corporation, which had its hand full as of late," he said.
The first district is composed of Tabaco City and the towns of Bacacay, Malilipot, Malinao, Santo Domingo and Tiwi, while the third district is composed of Ligao City and the towns of Guinobatan, Jovellar, Libon, Oas, Polangui and Pio Duran.
The second district, which sustained only minimal damage compared to the two other districts, is composed of Legazpi City (Bicol’s regional center) and the towns of Daraga, Camalig, Manito and the island town of Rapu-Rapu.
“I don’t know how we can have a merry Christmas in this situation, but the important thing is, we’re trying to restore normalcy. The moment the storm calmed down, we began clearing operations,” said Salceda in a recent radio interview.
The good news is that displaced families have returned home, the lawmaker said, even as he warned of a new weather disturbance said to be heading for the Bicol area during the week.
“I thank Philreca Partylist Cong. Presley de Jesus for helping us organize these teams that will facilitate power restoration in my province,” said Salceda whose second congressional district office has shouldered the food and other provisions for the linemen, under the #DaDCares program.
Salceda reiterated his appeal for assistance to his district following Rolly’s onslaught, which inflicted about P2.1 billion in damage to infrastructures.
Most of the evacuees here have gone home but their daily needs still have to be sustained, because their incomes have been severely affected, with their farms inundated by flashfloods, he said.
A total of 286 houses were destroyed in his district, with 450 others critically, and 768 substantially. Albay second district has a population of 613,940.
For pledges, please contact: Atty Carol Sabio: 0917 253 8813 Justin Jay Bolanos: 09175788215 / 0923 729 3443 Zaldy Santillan: 0925 852 4174. For cash donations, you may deposit to: TAYO, Inc Metrobank Team Albay Youth Organizations, Inc 595-7-59500460-4 GCASH Cathlea E. Madrona 09561633980 Palawan Express Asher Jade T. Azul 09065910447.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/339156/salceda-lauds-philreca-teams-for-working-to-restore-albay-electricity.html
LEGAZPI CITY--Albay Second District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda recognized the “untiring efforts” by power teams from 11 electric cooperatives of the Philippine Rural Electrification Associations Inc., or Philreca Partylist, to help restore electricity in the province.
Super Typhoon Rolly struck Albay province and neighboring areas on All Saints Day, leaving a path of destruction that toppled power lines particularly in the first and third districts, which authorities say may take four to six months to rehabilitate.
Salceda said the Philreca teams now in Albay are composed of 97 linemen from DORELCO, LEYECO II, III, IV, V, BILECO and SOLECO in Leyte and; ESAMELCO, SAMELCO I, SAMELCO II and NORSAMELCO all in Samar province.
"We thank these teams which have pledged to dedicate one month of their time to help restore power in Albay, especially in our most priority facilities such as government, medical and commercial areas. The province’s power supply is being distributed by the Albay Power Electric Corporation, which had its hand full as of late," he said.
The first district is composed of Tabaco City and the towns of Bacacay, Malilipot, Malinao, Santo Domingo and Tiwi, while the third district is composed of Ligao City and the towns of Guinobatan, Jovellar, Libon, Oas, Polangui and Pio Duran.
The second district, which sustained only minimal damage compared to the two other districts, is composed of Legazpi City (Bicol’s regional center) and the towns of Daraga, Camalig, Manito and the island town of Rapu-Rapu.
“I don’t know how we can have a merry Christmas in this situation, but the important thing is, we’re trying to restore normalcy. The moment the storm calmed down, we began clearing operations,” said Salceda in a recent radio interview.
The good news is that displaced families have returned home, the lawmaker said, even as he warned of a new weather disturbance said to be heading for the Bicol area during the week.
“I thank Philreca Partylist Cong. Presley de Jesus for helping us organize these teams that will facilitate power restoration in my province,” said Salceda whose second congressional district office has shouldered the food and other provisions for the linemen, under the #DaDCares program.
Salceda reiterated his appeal for assistance to his district following Rolly’s onslaught, which inflicted about P2.1 billion in damage to infrastructures.
Most of the evacuees here have gone home but their daily needs still have to be sustained, because their incomes have been severely affected, with their farms inundated by flashfloods, he said.
A total of 286 houses were destroyed in his district, with 450 others critically, and 768 substantially. Albay second district has a population of 613,940.
For pledges, please contact: Atty Carol Sabio: 0917 253 8813 Justin Jay Bolanos: 09175788215 / 0923 729 3443 Zaldy Santillan: 0925 852 4174. For cash donations, you may deposit to: TAYO, Inc Metrobank Team Albay Youth Organizations, Inc 595-7-59500460-4 GCASH Cathlea E. Madrona 09561633980 Palawan Express Asher Jade T. Azul 09065910447.
DOE says Udenna deal in Malampaya shares a ‘voidable contract’
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 03:52 PM November 10, 2020
https://business.inquirer.net/311478/doe-says-udenna-deal-in-malampaya-shares-a-voidable-contract
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) said during Tuesday’s hearing at the Senate that the Chevron-Udenna deal approved in March concerning the 45-percent stake in the Malampaya shares is a “voidable contract.”
Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III bared that the parties concur that the Chevron-Udenna deal sealed in March 11, 2020 could still be voided if it would not be approved by the DOE.
The 45-percent stake of businessman Dennis Uy’s UC Malampaya LLC is worth $565 million.
Pulido also stressed the sale is voidable in response to Senator Imee Marcos’ query if it is an “incomplete sale.”
This means that the divestment of the 45-percent Chevron equity in Malampaya could still fail without government approval.
Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos said the DOE is still evaluating the Chevron-Udenna sale as well as the financial and technical capability of the Uy-led firm to be in gas field operations.
Udenna and Chevron had claimed they are not covered by Section 11 of Presidential Decree (PD) 87, or that stature requiring DOE approval on their transaction.
Pulido reinforced this by saying the parties are bound by the joint operating agreement (JOA), which requires the concurrence of the consortium-members to the sale namely the Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) and Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC).
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has also given its nod to the transaction. Udenna Malampaya LLC also told the Senate that loans for the transaction were acquired from the Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group and the ING Bank.
However, Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian argued that the Udenna-Chevron transaction is already a done-deal, “and DOE is now just a footnote. DOE is just a probably a footnote, trying to complete the transaction. I don’t agree that there’s no violation.”
Gatchalian stressed there was a violation in the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) as it had no prior approval from the DOE.
Pulido insisted though that without the DOE’s approval, the sale is not considered final and concluded.
Senator Panfilo Lacson similarly asked the DOE officials if state-run PNOC can exercise its right to acquire Chevron’s stake in Malampaya in case the sale with Udenna would fail and if they will end up in a legal challenge that may reach even the Supreme Court.
PNOC President Reuben S. Lista indicated that the government is currently studying the possibility of increasing its stake in Malampaya – and this is done along with its subsidiary, PNOC-Exploration Corporation, which currently holds the 10-percent minority stake in the Malampaya project.
Nevertheless, PNOC-EC President and CEO Rozzano D. Briguez noted that their company may not be ready to take over gas field operations as large as that of Malampaya’s scale.
He said the company does not have extensive experience yet in deep water gas field operations; and what they had was just on smaller scale onshore gas field venture through the San Antonio gas field in the past.
“Technically and financially, we are not yet ready to take over such magnitude of operations,” Briguez stressed, adding that it will take 10 more years for them to gain that experience and they must have actual involvement on at least two large scale gas field projects first, including their planned foray into Service Contract 57 in Northwest Palawan if that will eventually end up to be a commercial scale discovery.
https://business.inquirer.net/311478/doe-says-udenna-deal-in-malampaya-shares-a-voidable-contract
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) said during Tuesday’s hearing at the Senate that the Chevron-Udenna deal approved in March concerning the 45-percent stake in the Malampaya shares is a “voidable contract.”
Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III bared that the parties concur that the Chevron-Udenna deal sealed in March 11, 2020 could still be voided if it would not be approved by the DOE.
The 45-percent stake of businessman Dennis Uy’s UC Malampaya LLC is worth $565 million.
Pulido also stressed the sale is voidable in response to Senator Imee Marcos’ query if it is an “incomplete sale.”
This means that the divestment of the 45-percent Chevron equity in Malampaya could still fail without government approval.
Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos said the DOE is still evaluating the Chevron-Udenna sale as well as the financial and technical capability of the Uy-led firm to be in gas field operations.
Udenna and Chevron had claimed they are not covered by Section 11 of Presidential Decree (PD) 87, or that stature requiring DOE approval on their transaction.
Pulido reinforced this by saying the parties are bound by the joint operating agreement (JOA), which requires the concurrence of the consortium-members to the sale namely the Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) and Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC).
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has also given its nod to the transaction. Udenna Malampaya LLC also told the Senate that loans for the transaction were acquired from the Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group and the ING Bank.
However, Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian argued that the Udenna-Chevron transaction is already a done-deal, “and DOE is now just a footnote. DOE is just a probably a footnote, trying to complete the transaction. I don’t agree that there’s no violation.”
Gatchalian stressed there was a violation in the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) as it had no prior approval from the DOE.
Pulido insisted though that without the DOE’s approval, the sale is not considered final and concluded.
Senator Panfilo Lacson similarly asked the DOE officials if state-run PNOC can exercise its right to acquire Chevron’s stake in Malampaya in case the sale with Udenna would fail and if they will end up in a legal challenge that may reach even the Supreme Court.
PNOC President Reuben S. Lista indicated that the government is currently studying the possibility of increasing its stake in Malampaya – and this is done along with its subsidiary, PNOC-Exploration Corporation, which currently holds the 10-percent minority stake in the Malampaya project.
Nevertheless, PNOC-EC President and CEO Rozzano D. Briguez noted that their company may not be ready to take over gas field operations as large as that of Malampaya’s scale.
He said the company does not have extensive experience yet in deep water gas field operations; and what they had was just on smaller scale onshore gas field venture through the San Antonio gas field in the past.
“Technically and financially, we are not yet ready to take over such magnitude of operations,” Briguez stressed, adding that it will take 10 more years for them to gain that experience and they must have actual involvement on at least two large scale gas field projects first, including their planned foray into Service Contract 57 in Northwest Palawan if that will eventually end up to be a commercial scale discovery.
Meralco works round-the-clock to restore power in typhoon hit areas
Published November 10, 2020, 8:00 AM by Manila Bulletin
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/10/meralco-works-round-the-clock-to-restore-power-in-typhoon-hit-areas/
Meralco crews worked continuously to clear the debris and restore electric service in areas badly hit by two successive typhoons that recently hit the country: Typhoon Quinta, a category-3 typhoon that brought strong winds and rains from October 23 to October 27, followed by Super Typhoon Rolly, which was reported to be a category-5 typhoon, and considered the world’s strongest typhoon so far this year. As of Wednesday, November 4, 2020, Meralco announced that it has fully restored the electric service of all its customers affected by the said typhoons. Meralco is committed 24/7 to respond to power outages caused by natural calamities such as these even with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/10/meralco-works-round-the-clock-to-restore-power-in-typhoon-hit-areas/
Meralco crews worked continuously to clear the debris and restore electric service in areas badly hit by two successive typhoons that recently hit the country: Typhoon Quinta, a category-3 typhoon that brought strong winds and rains from October 23 to October 27, followed by Super Typhoon Rolly, which was reported to be a category-5 typhoon, and considered the world’s strongest typhoon so far this year. As of Wednesday, November 4, 2020, Meralco announced that it has fully restored the electric service of all its customers affected by the said typhoons. Meralco is committed 24/7 to respond to power outages caused by natural calamities such as these even with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Tax appeals court grants geothermal firm’s refund
November 9, 2020 | 12:04 am
https://www.bworldonline.com/tax-appeals-court-grants-geothermal-firms-refund/
THE Court of Tax Appeals partially granted the tax refund claim of the Philippine Geothermal Production Co., Inc. (PGPI) representing its excess and unutilized value-added tax (VAT) attributable to zero-rated sales for 2015.
In a 24-page decision dated Oct. 28, the court’s second division ordered the Bureau of Internal Revenue to refund or issue a tax credit certificate to the company worth P10 million out of its initial P24.5 million claim.
The court said that only P22.7 million out of the P24.5 million claimed represents valid input VAT. Of the said amount, only P13.6 million can be traced to zero-rated sales.
“Due to the BIR’s previous partial approval of petitioner’s claim up to the amount of P3,589,914.20, the excess input VAT attributable to valid zero-rated sales of P13,619,625.28 should be further reduced,” the courts said.
“Hence, petitioner is entitled to a lesser input VAT claim of P10,029,711.08 after taking into consideration the BIR’s partial grant of its claim,” it added.
PGPCI, a renewable energy developer, is entitled to zero-rated value added tax on purchases of local supply of goods, properties, and services needed for the development of plant facilities, according to Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.
The Tax Code also states that sale of power or fuel generated through renewable sources of energy are subject to zero-rated VAT.
The court said that of the P3.9-billion reported sales for 2015, the court-commissioned accountant verified that the zero-rated sales were attributed to steam sales. Only P3.4 billion were supported with receipts and qualified as valid.
Of the declared input VAT of P24.5 million, around P22.7 were valid, it said.
“Although petitioner has a total valid input VAT of P22,769,549.78, the same, however, is not entirely attributable to zero-rated sales since petitioner also had VATable sales,” the court said.
The court also said the input VAT claimed was not applied to any output VAT liability and the claim for refund was filed on time.
The company first filed its claim in March 2017 with the BIR and was granted P3.5 million. The claim was then elevated to the court. — Vann Marlo Villegas
https://www.bworldonline.com/tax-appeals-court-grants-geothermal-firms-refund/
THE Court of Tax Appeals partially granted the tax refund claim of the Philippine Geothermal Production Co., Inc. (PGPI) representing its excess and unutilized value-added tax (VAT) attributable to zero-rated sales for 2015.
In a 24-page decision dated Oct. 28, the court’s second division ordered the Bureau of Internal Revenue to refund or issue a tax credit certificate to the company worth P10 million out of its initial P24.5 million claim.
The court said that only P22.7 million out of the P24.5 million claimed represents valid input VAT. Of the said amount, only P13.6 million can be traced to zero-rated sales.
“Due to the BIR’s previous partial approval of petitioner’s claim up to the amount of P3,589,914.20, the excess input VAT attributable to valid zero-rated sales of P13,619,625.28 should be further reduced,” the courts said.
“Hence, petitioner is entitled to a lesser input VAT claim of P10,029,711.08 after taking into consideration the BIR’s partial grant of its claim,” it added.
PGPCI, a renewable energy developer, is entitled to zero-rated value added tax on purchases of local supply of goods, properties, and services needed for the development of plant facilities, according to Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.
The Tax Code also states that sale of power or fuel generated through renewable sources of energy are subject to zero-rated VAT.
The court said that of the P3.9-billion reported sales for 2015, the court-commissioned accountant verified that the zero-rated sales were attributed to steam sales. Only P3.4 billion were supported with receipts and qualified as valid.
Of the declared input VAT of P24.5 million, around P22.7 were valid, it said.
“Although petitioner has a total valid input VAT of P22,769,549.78, the same, however, is not entirely attributable to zero-rated sales since petitioner also had VATable sales,” the court said.
The court also said the input VAT claimed was not applied to any output VAT liability and the claim for refund was filed on time.
The company first filed its claim in March 2017 with the BIR and was granted P3.5 million. The claim was then elevated to the court. — Vann Marlo Villegas
EDC puts up temporary power in typhoon-hit Bicol areas
November 9, 2020 | 12:02 am
https://www.bworldonline.com/edc-puts-up-temporary-power-in-typhoon-hit-bicol-areas/
GEOTHERMAL company Energy Development Corp. (EDC) has started providing 20 to 40 megawatts (MW) of temporary power to Albay and Sorsogon provinces after the Bicol region was hit by Super Typhoon Rolly on Nov. 1.
EDC’s Bacon-Manito geothermal facility worked with Sorsogon I Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Sorsogon II Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Albay Electric Cooperative, Inc. to serve their power needs even without a power supply agreement with them, the Lopez-led company said.
The move, which also covered some of the larger commercial establishments in Albay and Sorsogon, is with the support of privately led grid operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), it added.
“We express our deepest gratitude to NGCP for making it possible for us to energize our two host areas that have about 400,000 households and a population of about two million,” said Liberato S. Virata, EDC engineer, senior vice-president and head of the company’s facilities O&M group, in a press release over the weekend.
Since Nov. 1, the two provinces have been without electricity after power lines and facilities were damaged by the typhoon.
Aside from temporary power, EDC is also providing more than 2,300 sacks of rice to both provinces as well as Catanduanes and Camarines Sur. It is distributing food packs and bread to severely affected families in Guinobatan, Albay in partnership with the Lopez Group Foundation, Inc.
“Through this initiative, we hope to help our local communities recover from the damages caused by Super Typhoon Rolly and from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr. Virata said.
EDC said BacMan’s temporary power for Albay and Sorsogon will revert to the normal setup and operations once the NGCP grid line from Naga to Daraga has been restored and power is once again supplied from the grid.
EDC, with its subsidiary Bac-Man Geothermal, Inc., operates the 140-MW Bacon-Manito geothermal facility that spans Manito in Albay and Bacon in Sorsogon. It supplies clean and reliable power to the Luzon grid and to retail electricity customers.
EDC has more than 1,200 MW of installed geothermal capacity, which accounts for about 62% of the country’s geothermal capacity.
https://www.bworldonline.com/edc-puts-up-temporary-power-in-typhoon-hit-bicol-areas/
GEOTHERMAL company Energy Development Corp. (EDC) has started providing 20 to 40 megawatts (MW) of temporary power to Albay and Sorsogon provinces after the Bicol region was hit by Super Typhoon Rolly on Nov. 1.
EDC’s Bacon-Manito geothermal facility worked with Sorsogon I Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Sorsogon II Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Albay Electric Cooperative, Inc. to serve their power needs even without a power supply agreement with them, the Lopez-led company said.
The move, which also covered some of the larger commercial establishments in Albay and Sorsogon, is with the support of privately led grid operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), it added.
“We express our deepest gratitude to NGCP for making it possible for us to energize our two host areas that have about 400,000 households and a population of about two million,” said Liberato S. Virata, EDC engineer, senior vice-president and head of the company’s facilities O&M group, in a press release over the weekend.
Since Nov. 1, the two provinces have been without electricity after power lines and facilities were damaged by the typhoon.
Aside from temporary power, EDC is also providing more than 2,300 sacks of rice to both provinces as well as Catanduanes and Camarines Sur. It is distributing food packs and bread to severely affected families in Guinobatan, Albay in partnership with the Lopez Group Foundation, Inc.
“Through this initiative, we hope to help our local communities recover from the damages caused by Super Typhoon Rolly and from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr. Virata said.
EDC said BacMan’s temporary power for Albay and Sorsogon will revert to the normal setup and operations once the NGCP grid line from Naga to Daraga has been restored and power is once again supplied from the grid.
EDC, with its subsidiary Bac-Man Geothermal, Inc., operates the 140-MW Bacon-Manito geothermal facility that spans Manito in Albay and Bacon in Sorsogon. It supplies clean and reliable power to the Luzon grid and to retail electricity customers.
EDC has more than 1,200 MW of installed geothermal capacity, which accounts for about 62% of the country’s geothermal capacity.
‘AboitizPower to reboot overseas plans in 2022’
By Lenie Lectura November 9, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/09/aboitizpower-to-reboot-overseas-plans-in-2022/
ABOITIZ Power Corp. will resume exploring overseas investments, particularly in developing nations, by 2022.
“As you know, we have deferred our move in Vietnam during the pandemic. We see ourselves back by 2022 into the countries that we have chosen pre-pandemic,” said Aboitiz Power president Emmanuel Rubio.
Last April, the power firm terminated its planned acquisition of Vietnam’s Mekong Wind due to an undisclosed condition that was not met on time. AboitizPower subsidiary, AboitizPower International Pte. Ltd., was supposed to fully acquire Mekong Wind Pte. Ltd. from Armstrong Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund Pte. Ltd. (AAM).
The supposed deal was worth $46 million.
Mekong Wind holds a 99-percent direct interest in Dam Nai Wind Power, which owns and operates the 39.4-megawatt (MW) onshore wind power facility in Ninh Thuan Province, Southern Vietnam.
Dam Nai Wind is one of the first wind power projects in Vietnam to have been successfully brought online with commercial operations having commenced in late 2017.
AboitizPower’s overseas plans included Myanmar and Indonesia.
“Together with our partners, we are exploring some projects in Indonesia. If ever there would be partners then we have to look for synergies, we’ve been exploring projects that we can be 100 percent or majority, those are the preferences,” Rubio had said. “We are looking for projects that are eligible for FIT (feed-in-tariff) and they are wind and solar projects, some operating, some for development.” Rubio also mentioned that liquefied natural gas (LNG) is now part of the company’s future plans to boost its power portfolio. “It’s an option we are seriously considering and we have created a team that will look at this option. In the next 10 years, we expect that gas will form part of our portfolio for baseload supply.”
Meanwhile, the company is in talks with two firms interested to purchase its 8.8megawatt (MW) biomass power plant operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aseagas Corporation (Aseagas).
“Aseagas is still in the market but we are in discussions with an entity interested on purchasing the major equipment on site. We are also in discussion with an entity interested on the land,” said Rubio.
He did not identify the two interested buyers.
The biomass plant in Lian, Batangas ceased operations in November 2017 due to unavailability of the supply of organic effluent wastewater from Absolut Distillers Inc. This organic material was used to produce electricity upon conversion into renewable energy.
Rubio had said the total value of the asset is estimated at P3.7 billion, which represents Aseagas’ equity investment of P3.45 billion and the company’s remaining obligations of around P250 million.
It tapped asset disposal expert Astoca to sell the biomass power plant.
Aseagas is a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power, through Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., its holding company for its investments in renewable energy.
Aboitiz Power, meanwhile, is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, and retail electricity services.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/09/aboitizpower-to-reboot-overseas-plans-in-2022/
ABOITIZ Power Corp. will resume exploring overseas investments, particularly in developing nations, by 2022.
“As you know, we have deferred our move in Vietnam during the pandemic. We see ourselves back by 2022 into the countries that we have chosen pre-pandemic,” said Aboitiz Power president Emmanuel Rubio.
Last April, the power firm terminated its planned acquisition of Vietnam’s Mekong Wind due to an undisclosed condition that was not met on time. AboitizPower subsidiary, AboitizPower International Pte. Ltd., was supposed to fully acquire Mekong Wind Pte. Ltd. from Armstrong Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund Pte. Ltd. (AAM).
The supposed deal was worth $46 million.
Mekong Wind holds a 99-percent direct interest in Dam Nai Wind Power, which owns and operates the 39.4-megawatt (MW) onshore wind power facility in Ninh Thuan Province, Southern Vietnam.
Dam Nai Wind is one of the first wind power projects in Vietnam to have been successfully brought online with commercial operations having commenced in late 2017.
AboitizPower’s overseas plans included Myanmar and Indonesia.
“Together with our partners, we are exploring some projects in Indonesia. If ever there would be partners then we have to look for synergies, we’ve been exploring projects that we can be 100 percent or majority, those are the preferences,” Rubio had said. “We are looking for projects that are eligible for FIT (feed-in-tariff) and they are wind and solar projects, some operating, some for development.” Rubio also mentioned that liquefied natural gas (LNG) is now part of the company’s future plans to boost its power portfolio. “It’s an option we are seriously considering and we have created a team that will look at this option. In the next 10 years, we expect that gas will form part of our portfolio for baseload supply.”
Meanwhile, the company is in talks with two firms interested to purchase its 8.8megawatt (MW) biomass power plant operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aseagas Corporation (Aseagas).
“Aseagas is still in the market but we are in discussions with an entity interested on purchasing the major equipment on site. We are also in discussion with an entity interested on the land,” said Rubio.
He did not identify the two interested buyers.
The biomass plant in Lian, Batangas ceased operations in November 2017 due to unavailability of the supply of organic effluent wastewater from Absolut Distillers Inc. This organic material was used to produce electricity upon conversion into renewable energy.
Rubio had said the total value of the asset is estimated at P3.7 billion, which represents Aseagas’ equity investment of P3.45 billion and the company’s remaining obligations of around P250 million.
It tapped asset disposal expert Astoca to sell the biomass power plant.
Aseagas is a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power, through Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., its holding company for its investments in renewable energy.
Aboitiz Power, meanwhile, is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, and retail electricity services.
EPNS status granted to LNG projects
By Lenie Lectura November 9, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/09/epns-status-granted-to-lng-projects/
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects of Texas-based Excelerate Energy L.P. and Batangas Clean Energy, Inc. of the LT Group were recently declared by the Energy Investment Coordinating Council through the Department of Energy (DOE) as “Energy Project of National Significance” (EPNS).
Excelerate’s LNG import terminal off Batangas Bay would come online in the second quarter of 2022. The executive president of Excelerate’s local partner, Topline Energy, said construction of its proposed open-access LNG import terminal may cost $230 million.
It is set to submit to the DOE an application for a Permit to Construct, Expand, Rehabilitate and Modify its proposed LNG facility.
Meanwhile, Lucio Tan’s group secured 2 EPNS for its proposed 1,100megawatt (MW) gas power plant and its LNG import facility with a capacity of 3 million tons per annum.
Batangas Clean Energy may spend P37.553 billion for the entire project to be put up at Pinamucan Ibaba in Batangas City and ready to go online possibly in the first quarter of 2025.
The proponent firm will be undertaking the project with American firm Gen X Energy, which is affiliated with private equity firm The Blackstone Group.
Two other LNG players—Australian firm Energy World Corp. and Lopez-led First Gen LNG Corp.—have already secured their EPNS certificates.
The DOE also issued an EPNS permit to Bac-Man Geothermal, Inc., a subsidiary of Energy Development Corp. of the Lopez group, for its Bac-Man expansion project.
The four EPNS were issued last October 30.
The type of EPNS certificates issued Batangas Clean Energy and Excelerate were tagged as “Commerciality” while that of BGI was labeled as “Pre-Development Phase.”
Out of the 393 EPNS applications, 149 were certified as EPNS, 139 were denied, 76 failed to comply with the necessary requirements and 35 applications are still under evaluation.
The total estimated investment cost for the 149 issued CEPNS amount to P794.52 billion, according to the latest data of the DOE dated November 6 this year.
EPNS are significant energy projects for power generation, transmission, and/or ancillary services including those required to maintain grid stability and security, and which are in consonance with the policy thrusts and specific goals of the DOE’s Philippine Energy Plan.
The issuance of EPNS certificates is stipulated under Executive Order 30, which states that concerned government agencies shall act upon applications for permits not exceeding within a 30-day period. If no decision is made within the specified processing timeframe, the application is deemed approved by the concerned agency.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/09/epns-status-granted-to-lng-projects/
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects of Texas-based Excelerate Energy L.P. and Batangas Clean Energy, Inc. of the LT Group were recently declared by the Energy Investment Coordinating Council through the Department of Energy (DOE) as “Energy Project of National Significance” (EPNS).
Excelerate’s LNG import terminal off Batangas Bay would come online in the second quarter of 2022. The executive president of Excelerate’s local partner, Topline Energy, said construction of its proposed open-access LNG import terminal may cost $230 million.
It is set to submit to the DOE an application for a Permit to Construct, Expand, Rehabilitate and Modify its proposed LNG facility.
Meanwhile, Lucio Tan’s group secured 2 EPNS for its proposed 1,100megawatt (MW) gas power plant and its LNG import facility with a capacity of 3 million tons per annum.
Batangas Clean Energy may spend P37.553 billion for the entire project to be put up at Pinamucan Ibaba in Batangas City and ready to go online possibly in the first quarter of 2025.
The proponent firm will be undertaking the project with American firm Gen X Energy, which is affiliated with private equity firm The Blackstone Group.
Two other LNG players—Australian firm Energy World Corp. and Lopez-led First Gen LNG Corp.—have already secured their EPNS certificates.
The DOE also issued an EPNS permit to Bac-Man Geothermal, Inc., a subsidiary of Energy Development Corp. of the Lopez group, for its Bac-Man expansion project.
The four EPNS were issued last October 30.
The type of EPNS certificates issued Batangas Clean Energy and Excelerate were tagged as “Commerciality” while that of BGI was labeled as “Pre-Development Phase.”
Out of the 393 EPNS applications, 149 were certified as EPNS, 139 were denied, 76 failed to comply with the necessary requirements and 35 applications are still under evaluation.
The total estimated investment cost for the 149 issued CEPNS amount to P794.52 billion, according to the latest data of the DOE dated November 6 this year.
EPNS are significant energy projects for power generation, transmission, and/or ancillary services including those required to maintain grid stability and security, and which are in consonance with the policy thrusts and specific goals of the DOE’s Philippine Energy Plan.
The issuance of EPNS certificates is stipulated under Executive Order 30, which states that concerned government agencies shall act upon applications for permits not exceeding within a 30-day period. If no decision is made within the specified processing timeframe, the application is deemed approved by the concerned agency.
DOE names 4 projects of national significance
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star) - November 9, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/09/2055483/doe-names-4-projects-national-significance
MANILA, Philippines — Four new power projects have been named energy projects of national significance (EPNS) in October, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
Among the approved EPNS applications include two projects of Batangas Clean Energy, particularly the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal Project and the Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant Project.
Also approved were the Bacon-Manito Geothermal Expansion Project by Bacman Geothermal Inc. and the Luzon LNG project of Excelerate Energy.
The new approvals bring the total issued certificates of energy projects of national significance (CEPNS) to 149, translating to a total investment cost of P794.5 billion.
The DOE said it has received a total of 399 CEPNS applications as of Nov. 6.
Of the total applications, 139 have been denied, while 35 are under evaluation.
Meanwhile 76 applications have been returned or notified of non-compliance to form or documentary requirements.
Projects issued with the CEPNs are projects identified and endorsed by the DOE that are in consonance with the policy thrust and implementation of the Philippines Energy Plan (PEP)
The said power projects will be entitled to all the rights and privileges under Executive Order (EO) 30.
The CEPNS was intended to establish a simplified approval process and harmonize the relevant rules and regulations of all government agencies involved in the permitting process.
Signed by President Duterte in June 2017, EO 30 provides that government agencies concerned with energy projects should presume other agencies were able to act upon and issue their respective permits within a 30-day period.
If not acted upon five days after the lapse of 30 days, these projects are deemed approved.
To qualify under EO 30, power generation and transmission projects are required to have a capital costs of P3.5 billion, significant contribution to the country’s economic development and significant consequential impact, among others.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/09/2055483/doe-names-4-projects-national-significance
MANILA, Philippines — Four new power projects have been named energy projects of national significance (EPNS) in October, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
Among the approved EPNS applications include two projects of Batangas Clean Energy, particularly the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal Project and the Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant Project.
Also approved were the Bacon-Manito Geothermal Expansion Project by Bacman Geothermal Inc. and the Luzon LNG project of Excelerate Energy.
The new approvals bring the total issued certificates of energy projects of national significance (CEPNS) to 149, translating to a total investment cost of P794.5 billion.
The DOE said it has received a total of 399 CEPNS applications as of Nov. 6.
Of the total applications, 139 have been denied, while 35 are under evaluation.
Meanwhile 76 applications have been returned or notified of non-compliance to form or documentary requirements.
Projects issued with the CEPNs are projects identified and endorsed by the DOE that are in consonance with the policy thrust and implementation of the Philippines Energy Plan (PEP)
The said power projects will be entitled to all the rights and privileges under Executive Order (EO) 30.
The CEPNS was intended to establish a simplified approval process and harmonize the relevant rules and regulations of all government agencies involved in the permitting process.
Signed by President Duterte in June 2017, EO 30 provides that government agencies concerned with energy projects should presume other agencies were able to act upon and issue their respective permits within a 30-day period.
If not acted upon five days after the lapse of 30 days, these projects are deemed approved.
To qualify under EO 30, power generation and transmission projects are required to have a capital costs of P3.5 billion, significant contribution to the country’s economic development and significant consequential impact, among others.
Meralco power bills to fall in November
Ramon Royandoyan (Philstar.com) - November 9, 2020 - 1:50pm
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/09/2055671/meralco-power-bills-fall-november
MANILA, Philippines — After a brief uptick in power costs this month, customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see charges slightly go down in November on the back of sufficient supply.
For a typical household consuming 200 kilowatt per hour (kWh), the adjustment will be equivalent to “a decrease of around P8” in their November bill, the country’s largest power distributor announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Just early this month, Meralco hiked electricity costs by up to P24 for 200 kWh consumers for October due to tight supply resulting from power plant shutdowns that happened while demand was up from customers staying at home during the pandemic.
That has since changed, Meralco said, after “demand decreased due to weather disturbances” in the preceding month that nonetheless toppled power lines and left thousands without power. This, in turn, resulted into “less generation capacity” during outages.
Overall, Meralco rates for a common household would decrease by P0.0395 per kWh to P8.5105 per kWh next month. Broken down, generation charges will amount to P4.2018 per kWh, a reduction of P0.0215 per kWh.
In addition to lower demand, Meralco was also paying less for its electricity from generators. Electricity prices from Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, which serves as a venue for trading power, dropped P1.28 per kWh. Independent power producers, meanwhile, were also charging less to Meralco, down P0.0842 per kWh.
Electricity got cheaper because of discounts from those sourced from Malampaya natural gas plant off Palawan, which accounts for over 60% of Luzon’s energy. The peso’s appreciation that pulled down import prices also helped.
Price declines in WESM and IPPs offset slightly higher costs from power supply agreements between Meralco and generators, which inched up P0.2118 per kWh. These agreements accounted for 53% of Meralco’s power sold to consumers, while those from WESM and IPPs were equivalent to 12% and 35%, respectively.
Beyond generation, Meralco said power transmission charge, taxes, and other charges for residential customers also registered a net reduction of P0.0180 per kWh. Collection of universal charges also remained suspended by regulators.
On average, the Pangilinan-led company said the price of electricity it sold customers had gone down P1.35 per kWh since the start of the year. There were 8 months of decline that offset 4 months of uptick in prices.
Cheaper power may give some customers suffering joblessness over months of getting stuck at home some ability to pay. That said, Meralco assured consumers of 200 kWh that no lines will be cut until yearend, following regulatory rules, but at the same time appealed to people who can settle to do so on time.
For customers consuming above that level, the 30-day grace period on bill payments provided under Republic Act 11494 will be followed, although at this time, this may have already been exhausted since the law was passed last September. At which case, overdue balance may be paid on a staggered basis for 3 months thereafter.
“Meralco also encourages customers who have the ability to pay to settle their bills within the original due date to help manage the cash flow in the energy supply chain and ensure the continuous supply of electricity,” the company said.
Shares at Meralco closed up 4.26% to P313 apiece on Monday.
PHINMA commits to adopt new DTI labeling rules
Published November 9, 2020, 2:26 PM by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/09/phinma-commits-to-adopt-new-dti-labeling-rules/
The PHINMA Group said its cement trading arm PhilCement Corp. will quickly adjust to the new labeling rules and adopt to the new regulations set by the Department of Trade and Industry.
This was committed by the PHINMA Group after forging an agreement with the DTI to work together for stability and quality of construction materials in the country. It could also be recalled that PHINMA and the Cement Manufacturers of the Philippines (CeMAP) were at loggerheads with the local cement makers calling the attention of the DTI to look into the labeling of Philcement products.
The agreement followed after the DTI issued additional requirements and ordered all manufacturers and operators of bagging facilities to immediately cease printing operations of previously approved cement bag designs to ensure that those labeled as “Product of the Philippines” are truly locally manufactured products and not imported.
“DTI and PHINMA Group are in full agreement that this clarity in labelling conventions would help consumers in selecting and deciding on the cement products they prefer. This will also strengthen the country’s ai to support and patronize locally-manufactured products,” said the DTI and PHINMA joint statement.
On the part of PHINMA, the group expressed its full support this initiative and reiterate the compliance of their subsidiary Philcement to quickly adjust from the old guidelines and adopt to the new rules.
DTI also recognized the need for continuing dialogue with the private sector players to make consumer welfare the focus of doing business, in particular, providing Filipinos with a stable supply of affordable quality goods and services.
Late last month the DTI issued Memorandum Circular No. 20-56, which took effect today (Oct. 30,2020), as supplemental guidelines to the Implementation of Department Administrative Order 17-06, series of 2017 issued by DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards (BPS).
MC 20-56 was issued in light of complaints by local cement manufacturers of alleged “mislabeling” of imported cement to “Made in the Philippines”.
The MC also ordered an inventory of all printed cement bags shall be conducted by the BPS at the bagging facilities for recording purposes and immediate corrective action to reflect the country of manufacture.
Under the MC, DTI will also conduct market monitoring and enforcement to ensure that all cement products covered by OAO 17-06, Series of 2017 distributed in the local market bear the new required markings shall commence 60 days after effectivity of this Circular. During the 60-day transition period, manufacturers and/or operators of bagging facilities shall have completed recall procedures or corrective actions to comply.
Upon commencement of monitoring and enforcement, all manufacturers, operators of bagging facilities and retailers/distributors of non-compliant products shall be subject to penalties.
For the first offense, a Notice of Violation to both manufacturers and retailers/distributors shall be issued but retailers/distributors shall only be required to pull-out the items from the selling area. The non-compliant products may be utilized for own/personal use but shall not be offered for sale in retail/hardware stores.
For second offense onwards, the DTI will Notice of Violation to both manufacturers and retailers/distributors shall be issued subject to confiscation and/or destruction and the regular adjudication process. The PS (Philippine Standards) Licenses of the manufacturers and/or operators of bagging facilities shall be suspended.
Under the MC, all locally manufactured and imported cement products shipped in bulk and bagged in a PS Licensed bagging facility shall be permanently marked with the name and address of the manufacturer, the country of manufacture, and the words “Bagged by” followed by the name and address of the bagging facility, PS Mark of the bagging facility, manufacturing date, bagging date and batch identification number, and color band prescribed for 40-kilgoram bags.
Earlier, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez reiterated the importance of transparency and accuracy of the product markings for both locally manufactured and imported cement products.
“It is incumbent upon the importers and/or manufacturers to properly label their products and reflect the country where these products were produced. It will properly guide our consumers, especially at this time of pandemic where we encourage our countrymen to patronize locally produced products to support the economy,” Lopez said.
The trade chief has been actively promoting the “Buy Local, Go Lokal” campaign to prime up the local manufacturing industries as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically hitting the country’s economy.
Lopez stressed that cement manufacturers and operators of bagging facilities must be truthful in declaring the products’ country of origin.
“We encourage and support investments in additional cement processing facilities, but we will also not waiver in our pursuit to ensure level playing fields, both for locally manufactured and imported products. Accurate information through the products’ labels should be provided to the consumers for them to make informed decisions in their choices of consumer products” he added.
“While consumer safety is always one of the department’s priorities, it is also the mandate of DTI to protect and support local manufacturing industries. This is why, the DTI strongly promotes the Buy Local, Go Lokal campaign, encouraging all local consumers to patronize Filipino products and services.”
Aside from the labeling issue, local cement manufacturers and importers are currently engaged in a price war. Local cement manufacturers, who successfully gotten the DTI to issue a safeguard measure of P10 per 40-kilogram bag on imported cement, has petitioned the DTI to suspend the tariff cut reduction if not increase the rate to P12 per bag.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/09/phinma-commits-to-adopt-new-dti-labeling-rules/
The PHINMA Group said its cement trading arm PhilCement Corp. will quickly adjust to the new labeling rules and adopt to the new regulations set by the Department of Trade and Industry.
This was committed by the PHINMA Group after forging an agreement with the DTI to work together for stability and quality of construction materials in the country. It could also be recalled that PHINMA and the Cement Manufacturers of the Philippines (CeMAP) were at loggerheads with the local cement makers calling the attention of the DTI to look into the labeling of Philcement products.
The agreement followed after the DTI issued additional requirements and ordered all manufacturers and operators of bagging facilities to immediately cease printing operations of previously approved cement bag designs to ensure that those labeled as “Product of the Philippines” are truly locally manufactured products and not imported.
“DTI and PHINMA Group are in full agreement that this clarity in labelling conventions would help consumers in selecting and deciding on the cement products they prefer. This will also strengthen the country’s ai to support and patronize locally-manufactured products,” said the DTI and PHINMA joint statement.
On the part of PHINMA, the group expressed its full support this initiative and reiterate the compliance of their subsidiary Philcement to quickly adjust from the old guidelines and adopt to the new rules.
DTI also recognized the need for continuing dialogue with the private sector players to make consumer welfare the focus of doing business, in particular, providing Filipinos with a stable supply of affordable quality goods and services.
Late last month the DTI issued Memorandum Circular No. 20-56, which took effect today (Oct. 30,2020), as supplemental guidelines to the Implementation of Department Administrative Order 17-06, series of 2017 issued by DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards (BPS).
MC 20-56 was issued in light of complaints by local cement manufacturers of alleged “mislabeling” of imported cement to “Made in the Philippines”.
The MC also ordered an inventory of all printed cement bags shall be conducted by the BPS at the bagging facilities for recording purposes and immediate corrective action to reflect the country of manufacture.
Under the MC, DTI will also conduct market monitoring and enforcement to ensure that all cement products covered by OAO 17-06, Series of 2017 distributed in the local market bear the new required markings shall commence 60 days after effectivity of this Circular. During the 60-day transition period, manufacturers and/or operators of bagging facilities shall have completed recall procedures or corrective actions to comply.
Upon commencement of monitoring and enforcement, all manufacturers, operators of bagging facilities and retailers/distributors of non-compliant products shall be subject to penalties.
For the first offense, a Notice of Violation to both manufacturers and retailers/distributors shall be issued but retailers/distributors shall only be required to pull-out the items from the selling area. The non-compliant products may be utilized for own/personal use but shall not be offered for sale in retail/hardware stores.
For second offense onwards, the DTI will Notice of Violation to both manufacturers and retailers/distributors shall be issued subject to confiscation and/or destruction and the regular adjudication process. The PS (Philippine Standards) Licenses of the manufacturers and/or operators of bagging facilities shall be suspended.
Under the MC, all locally manufactured and imported cement products shipped in bulk and bagged in a PS Licensed bagging facility shall be permanently marked with the name and address of the manufacturer, the country of manufacture, and the words “Bagged by” followed by the name and address of the bagging facility, PS Mark of the bagging facility, manufacturing date, bagging date and batch identification number, and color band prescribed for 40-kilgoram bags.
Earlier, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez reiterated the importance of transparency and accuracy of the product markings for both locally manufactured and imported cement products.
“It is incumbent upon the importers and/or manufacturers to properly label their products and reflect the country where these products were produced. It will properly guide our consumers, especially at this time of pandemic where we encourage our countrymen to patronize locally produced products to support the economy,” Lopez said.
The trade chief has been actively promoting the “Buy Local, Go Lokal” campaign to prime up the local manufacturing industries as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically hitting the country’s economy.
Lopez stressed that cement manufacturers and operators of bagging facilities must be truthful in declaring the products’ country of origin.
“We encourage and support investments in additional cement processing facilities, but we will also not waiver in our pursuit to ensure level playing fields, both for locally manufactured and imported products. Accurate information through the products’ labels should be provided to the consumers for them to make informed decisions in their choices of consumer products” he added.
“While consumer safety is always one of the department’s priorities, it is also the mandate of DTI to protect and support local manufacturing industries. This is why, the DTI strongly promotes the Buy Local, Go Lokal campaign, encouraging all local consumers to patronize Filipino products and services.”
Aside from the labeling issue, local cement manufacturers and importers are currently engaged in a price war. Local cement manufacturers, who successfully gotten the DTI to issue a safeguard measure of P10 per 40-kilogram bag on imported cement, has petitioned the DTI to suspend the tariff cut reduction if not increase the rate to P12 per bag.
Mining companies oppose COA call for more royalties
By: Julie M. Aurelio, Karl R. Ocampo - 05:00 AM November 08, 2020
https://business.inquirer.net/311359/mining-companies-oppose-coa-call-for-more-royalties
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s biggest group of mining companies has opposed the recommendation of the Commission of Audit (COA) and the Department of Finance (DOF) to impose royalties on mining projects outside mineral reservations areas (MRAs).
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) issued the statement to the Inquirer on Friday after the COA reiterated its proposal to amend the country’s mining and tax laws.
According to the state auditing agency, the government has lost over P55 billion in “supposed taxes” over the past decade as those laws do not cover mining operations outside MRAs.
“Imposing additional royalties on Philippine mining projects outside [MRAs] such as that being proposed will stunt the industry’s growth and will only provide additional revenues in the near term, which we believe is shortsighted,” said Rocky Dimaculangan, COMP vice president for communications.
“It will make the Philippine mining industry uncompetitive and will deter investors from coming in, thus preventing foreign capital influx and other socioeconomic benefits, such as development of the countryside where minerals are abundant, and employment for people in rural areas,” he added.
Royalties are currently charged only for mining operations within MRAs since the government itself spends considerable amount of funds to explore these areas. Because of this, COMP believes that royalties should not be imposed in areas outside MRAs.
Dimaculangan said the government could “take a long hard look” at small-scale miners instead.
Report on MGB
“The portion of the small-scale mining sector in the country that is unregulated produces far more gold than the legitimate large-scale mining industry—yet this sector does not pay taxes and, for the most part, its output is not captured, which could otherwise form part of the country’s international reserves,” he added.
In its 2019 report on the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), an agency attached to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the COA said as much as P13.229 billion in possible government earnings were lost from 2018 to 2019, and up to P55.402 billion in the last decade.
These amounts could have been collected had the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) been amended, said the agency, which also pushed for royalty collection outside MRAs in its 2017 report on the MGB.
“The opportunity losses and/or forgone revenues from nonimposition of royalty fee to mining companies operating outside the MRAs will continue to surge until the bill seeking … the amendment of Section 151 of the NIRC will be passed into law,” the COA said.
“The supposed taxes that could have been collected had the bill been passed and signed into law can be used by the government to finance its priority programs and projects, especially in this time of financial crisis due to the pandemic,” it added.
There are several bills pending in the Senate to amend the NIRC.
DOF proposal
Under Republic Act No. 7942, or the 1995 Philippine Mining Act, mining companies are required to pay royalty taxes for operating in MRAs. The tax should not be less than 5 percent of the market value of the gross output of minerals or mineral products extracted from MRAs, exclusive of other taxes.
The DOF has appealed to the Senate to pass its original proposal of a uniform royalty rate of 5 percent for all mining operations.
State auditors have found the DOF proposal—which is applicable to all operations in and outside MRAs—to be “more advantageous to the government.”
They recommended that the MGB “support the stand of the DOF” and “make representations with the Senate to help in the early passage of the bill into law so that taxes can be collected when imposed for the benefit of our country and the people, when necessary.”
There are over 10 government-declared MRAs nationwide.
The state-owned Philippine Mining Development Corp. handles two MRAs in the Caraga region: the Diwalwal gold mine in Compostela Valley and the Dinagat Chromite-Nickel mining project.
https://business.inquirer.net/311359/mining-companies-oppose-coa-call-for-more-royalties
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s biggest group of mining companies has opposed the recommendation of the Commission of Audit (COA) and the Department of Finance (DOF) to impose royalties on mining projects outside mineral reservations areas (MRAs).
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) issued the statement to the Inquirer on Friday after the COA reiterated its proposal to amend the country’s mining and tax laws.
According to the state auditing agency, the government has lost over P55 billion in “supposed taxes” over the past decade as those laws do not cover mining operations outside MRAs.
“Imposing additional royalties on Philippine mining projects outside [MRAs] such as that being proposed will stunt the industry’s growth and will only provide additional revenues in the near term, which we believe is shortsighted,” said Rocky Dimaculangan, COMP vice president for communications.
“It will make the Philippine mining industry uncompetitive and will deter investors from coming in, thus preventing foreign capital influx and other socioeconomic benefits, such as development of the countryside where minerals are abundant, and employment for people in rural areas,” he added.
Royalties are currently charged only for mining operations within MRAs since the government itself spends considerable amount of funds to explore these areas. Because of this, COMP believes that royalties should not be imposed in areas outside MRAs.
Dimaculangan said the government could “take a long hard look” at small-scale miners instead.
Report on MGB
“The portion of the small-scale mining sector in the country that is unregulated produces far more gold than the legitimate large-scale mining industry—yet this sector does not pay taxes and, for the most part, its output is not captured, which could otherwise form part of the country’s international reserves,” he added.
In its 2019 report on the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), an agency attached to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the COA said as much as P13.229 billion in possible government earnings were lost from 2018 to 2019, and up to P55.402 billion in the last decade.
These amounts could have been collected had the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) been amended, said the agency, which also pushed for royalty collection outside MRAs in its 2017 report on the MGB.
“The opportunity losses and/or forgone revenues from nonimposition of royalty fee to mining companies operating outside the MRAs will continue to surge until the bill seeking … the amendment of Section 151 of the NIRC will be passed into law,” the COA said.
“The supposed taxes that could have been collected had the bill been passed and signed into law can be used by the government to finance its priority programs and projects, especially in this time of financial crisis due to the pandemic,” it added.
There are several bills pending in the Senate to amend the NIRC.
DOF proposal
Under Republic Act No. 7942, or the 1995 Philippine Mining Act, mining companies are required to pay royalty taxes for operating in MRAs. The tax should not be less than 5 percent of the market value of the gross output of minerals or mineral products extracted from MRAs, exclusive of other taxes.
The DOF has appealed to the Senate to pass its original proposal of a uniform royalty rate of 5 percent for all mining operations.
State auditors have found the DOF proposal—which is applicable to all operations in and outside MRAs—to be “more advantageous to the government.”
They recommended that the MGB “support the stand of the DOF” and “make representations with the Senate to help in the early passage of the bill into law so that taxes can be collected when imposed for the benefit of our country and the people, when necessary.”
There are over 10 government-declared MRAs nationwide.
The state-owned Philippine Mining Development Corp. handles two MRAs in the Caraga region: the Diwalwal gold mine in Compostela Valley and the Dinagat Chromite-Nickel mining project.
Aboitiz Power keen on expansion abroad
posted November 08, 2020 at 07:10 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338974/aboitiz-power-keen-on-expansion-abroad.html
Aboitiz Power Corp. expects to move ahead with international expansion plan by 2022, a top executive said over the weekend.
“We have deferred our move in Vietnam during the pandemic. We see ourselves back by 2022 into the countries that we have chosen, pre-pandemic,” Aboitiz Power president Emmanuel Rubio said during the company’s virtual briefing.
Aboitiz Power announced in April that it terminated its planned acquisition of a 100-percent ownership interest in Mekong Wind Pte. Ltd. which holds a majority stake in a 39.4-megawatt onshore wind power facility in Ninh Thuan province in southern Vietnam.
Aboitiz Power said Aboitiz Power International Pte. Ltd.’s planned acquisition of Mekong Wind from Armstrong Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund Pte. Ltd. “was not completed due to a condition precedent being unmet by the agreed longstop date.”
It said Aboitiz Power International was in discussions with Armstrong to revisit the acquisition in the future.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338974/aboitiz-power-keen-on-expansion-abroad.html
Aboitiz Power Corp. expects to move ahead with international expansion plan by 2022, a top executive said over the weekend.
“We have deferred our move in Vietnam during the pandemic. We see ourselves back by 2022 into the countries that we have chosen, pre-pandemic,” Aboitiz Power president Emmanuel Rubio said during the company’s virtual briefing.
Aboitiz Power announced in April that it terminated its planned acquisition of a 100-percent ownership interest in Mekong Wind Pte. Ltd. which holds a majority stake in a 39.4-megawatt onshore wind power facility in Ninh Thuan province in southern Vietnam.
Aboitiz Power said Aboitiz Power International Pte. Ltd.’s planned acquisition of Mekong Wind from Armstrong Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund Pte. Ltd. “was not completed due to a condition precedent being unmet by the agreed longstop date.”
It said Aboitiz Power International was in discussions with Armstrong to revisit the acquisition in the future.
Libya oil firm’s daily output tops 1 million barrels
posted November 08, 2020 at 06:10 pm by AFP
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338968/libya-oil-firm-s-daily-output-tops-1-million-barrels.html
Tripoli—Libya’s National Oil Corporation said Saturday production had punched above one million barrels per day, nearly two weeks after it lifted the war-torn country’s last remaining force majeure.
But the firm also warned financial difficulties could yet trigger a renewed slide in output.
The NOC said in a statement it had “managed to raise production rates to 1,036,035 barrels a day,” after lifting force majeure at the Al-Feel oilfield on October 26.
Force majeure refers to external unforeseen elements that prevent a party from fulfilling a contract.
It had been invoked on multiple facilities by NOC, due to a months long-blockade of oilfields and ports by forces loyal to eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, imposed to correct what his camp called an unfair distribution of oil revenues.
The country, which sits atop Africa’s largest proven crude oil reserves, has been torn between forces loyal to Haftar and a UN-recognized Government of National Accord in Tripoli.
But the two sides signed a UN-brokered “permanent ceasefire” on October 23, and NOC announced the same day the reopening of two key export terminals, Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra, before likewise lifting force majeure at Al-Feel three days later.
However, in its statement on Saturday, NOC also said it faced “very big financial difficulties and a huge shortage of its budgets.”
This has led to an accumulation of “debts on the sector’s companies and significant delay for the salaries of its service companies,” it added, pointing to a consequent “reluctance of some entities” to help restore production.
NOC therefore “may not be able to sustain the current production levels,” the company added, warning that output may even cease “totally.”
Up to January, Libyan oil production stood at 1.25 million barrels per day, but then drastically declined as a result of Haftar’s blockade.
Libya has been in chaos since a 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338968/libya-oil-firm-s-daily-output-tops-1-million-barrels.html
Tripoli—Libya’s National Oil Corporation said Saturday production had punched above one million barrels per day, nearly two weeks after it lifted the war-torn country’s last remaining force majeure.
But the firm also warned financial difficulties could yet trigger a renewed slide in output.
The NOC said in a statement it had “managed to raise production rates to 1,036,035 barrels a day,” after lifting force majeure at the Al-Feel oilfield on October 26.
Force majeure refers to external unforeseen elements that prevent a party from fulfilling a contract.
It had been invoked on multiple facilities by NOC, due to a months long-blockade of oilfields and ports by forces loyal to eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, imposed to correct what his camp called an unfair distribution of oil revenues.
The country, which sits atop Africa’s largest proven crude oil reserves, has been torn between forces loyal to Haftar and a UN-recognized Government of National Accord in Tripoli.
But the two sides signed a UN-brokered “permanent ceasefire” on October 23, and NOC announced the same day the reopening of two key export terminals, Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra, before likewise lifting force majeure at Al-Feel three days later.
However, in its statement on Saturday, NOC also said it faced “very big financial difficulties and a huge shortage of its budgets.”
This has led to an accumulation of “debts on the sector’s companies and significant delay for the salaries of its service companies,” it added, pointing to a consequent “reluctance of some entities” to help restore production.
NOC therefore “may not be able to sustain the current production levels,” the company added, warning that output may even cease “totally.”
Up to January, Libyan oil production stood at 1.25 million barrels per day, but then drastically declined as a result of Haftar’s blockade.
Libya has been in chaos since a 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
AboitizPower plans to expand capacity
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star ) - November 7, 2020 - 12:00am
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/07/2055070/aboitizpower-plans-expand-capacity
MANILA, Philippines — The power unit of the Aboitiz Group plans to expand its energy capacity next year with the continued development of its projects and its possible entry into the gas sector.
In a virtual briefing, AboitizPower president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio said while the company cannot regain lost demand in the previous quarters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks forward to additional energy capacities next year.
The company has already surpassed its target of 4,000 megawatts (MW) of attributable capacity this year with the addition of GNPower Dinginin.
Rubio said the company is also looking at participating in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)’s competitive selection process (CSP) for 1,800 MW of green baseload capacity.
The company official said SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) has also received approval to proceed with its energy storage investments, while Therma Marine Inc.’s barge in Maco, Compostela Valley has also received approval to provide ancillary services.
In terms of renewable energy (RE), AboitizPower has set its eyes on aggressively expanding its ‘Cleanergy’ portfolio in the next 10 years, with the goal of shifting its overall energy mix into almost 50:50 Thermal and Cleanergy capacities by 2030.
Rubio said the pandemic has lowered the demand for RE and has delayed the need for physical capacity for RE.
“And we expect that the demand for renewable energy, the physical demand will come in 2025 instead of 2023 because of the pandemic,” Rubio said.
He said the company is looking at growing its RE portfolio from the current 940 MW to close to 1,800 MW.
Rubio said the firm has organized a team to look into gas as a serious option for its baseload strategy, as it noticed a trend in terms of the forward curves for cost of gas getting to be more and more competitive.
“And this is something we are considering for the next 10 years, given that the Philippines will require baseload capacities anywhere from 680 to 750 MW year-on-year,” Rubio said.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/11/07/2055070/aboitizpower-plans-expand-capacity
MANILA, Philippines — The power unit of the Aboitiz Group plans to expand its energy capacity next year with the continued development of its projects and its possible entry into the gas sector.
In a virtual briefing, AboitizPower president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio said while the company cannot regain lost demand in the previous quarters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks forward to additional energy capacities next year.
The company has already surpassed its target of 4,000 megawatts (MW) of attributable capacity this year with the addition of GNPower Dinginin.
Rubio said the company is also looking at participating in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)’s competitive selection process (CSP) for 1,800 MW of green baseload capacity.
The company official said SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) has also received approval to proceed with its energy storage investments, while Therma Marine Inc.’s barge in Maco, Compostela Valley has also received approval to provide ancillary services.
In terms of renewable energy (RE), AboitizPower has set its eyes on aggressively expanding its ‘Cleanergy’ portfolio in the next 10 years, with the goal of shifting its overall energy mix into almost 50:50 Thermal and Cleanergy capacities by 2030.
Rubio said the pandemic has lowered the demand for RE and has delayed the need for physical capacity for RE.
“And we expect that the demand for renewable energy, the physical demand will come in 2025 instead of 2023 because of the pandemic,” Rubio said.
He said the company is looking at growing its RE portfolio from the current 940 MW to close to 1,800 MW.
Rubio said the firm has organized a team to look into gas as a serious option for its baseload strategy, as it noticed a trend in terms of the forward curves for cost of gas getting to be more and more competitive.
“And this is something we are considering for the next 10 years, given that the Philippines will require baseload capacities anywhere from 680 to 750 MW year-on-year,” Rubio said.
No assurance yet from DoE for ‘bright’ Christmas in Bicol
Published November 6, 2020, 3:08 PM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/06/no-assurance-yet-from-doe-for-bright-christmas-in-bicol/
Santa Claus will soon be knocking on Filipino homes, but for the Bicol region, the Department of Energy (DOE) cannot give an assurance yet if they can have “literally bright Christmas” because the restoration of power supply in the typhoon-devastated areas is still uncertain.
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi shared the view that the provinces of Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Sorsogon need not suffer blackouts of two months as projected, but when asked by the media on what they can promise as a timeframe for their electricity service to be back – the energy department cannot issue a definitive commitment.
“I just want to tell you that the DOE is on full alert. Not just the DoE, but the entire energy family is really on high alert,” Cusi said.
The energy chief said they will hasten restoration works in Bicol “not just because of Christmas, but because we are in a pandemic. Electricity is badly needed in hospitals, and in our vital government installations.”
More than 300 line workers had already been deployed by various electric cooperatives to help in reinstating electricity service in Bicol, but real work on the ground has yet to be stepped up.
For today, the DOE said it cannot give tangible update yet for Bicol power supply’s return, but it indicated that initial breakthrough might be feasible by tomorrow (Saturday).
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) already reported partial restoration of power supply in most affected areas in Batangas, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque and even the affected areas in Eastern Visayas, but news for the Bicol provinces remained grim.
Minus Bicol region, the power restoration in service areas of affected electric cooperatives already reached 54.73-percent as of Friday (November 6) morning, and that covered 1.144 million households out of the total 2.091 million households that suffered power interruptions.
The electrification agency similarly logged that the scale of damage sustained by power distribution infrastructure from super typhoon Rolly’s wrath stood at P327.909 million.
With that extent of damage on power facilities, even the P250 million allocation under the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF) will not be enough to cover all the required restoration activities in the networks of the ECs.
“Powerzone, the lone
depot in the province, temporarily stopped operations on Tuesday (November 3)
for damage assessment, but it resumed operations that same evening.”
The DOE narrated “when we received reports alleging that there was no fuel in
Catanduanes, the DOE immediately sought to verify the situation on the ground.
We take all such reports very seriously, especially since the entire energy
family has been working round-the-clock to ensure the delivery of energy goods
and services before, during and after calamities.”
AboitizPower’s supercritical power plant in Bataan to go online in 2021
November 6, 2020 | 12:05 am
https://www.bworldonline.com/aboitizpowers-supercritical-power-plant-in-bataan-to-go-online-in-2021/
ABOITIZ Power Corp. has scheduled the two units of a subsidiary’s 1,336-megawatt (MW) supercritical coal-fired power plant in Dinginin, Bataan to start operating commercially around the middle of next year.
In a statement late on Wednesday, the listed energy company said the first unit of GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. is set to synchronize with the grid by the end of the year and start operating by the second quarter of 2021.
The second unit will be synchronized and start earning commissioning revenues by the second quarter of next year. It is scheduled to start operating commercially by the third quarter. The two units have an identical capacity.
AboitizPower, which accounted for nearly half of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.’s income as of the third quarter, said its ownership of the plant allows it to surpass its 4,000-MW target “attributable” capacity while serving the country’s base load energy demand.
AboitizPower did not give details on its attributable capacity or its share in the new energy generating project. GNPower Dinginin is a joint venture of AC Energy, Inc., AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Power, Inc. and Power Partners Ltd. Co.
On its website, the GNPower Dinginin claims to be the “biggest coal-fired power plant” to be built in the Philippines. It currently has contracts with 30 distribution utilities and two retail electricity suppliers.
The target commercial run of the power plant comes as AboitizPower suffered a 32% fall in its third-quarter consolidated net income to P3.3 billion.
For the three quarters to September, its net income plunged by 48% to P7 billion, including non-recurring gains. Without the one-off gains, its core net income was down 53% to P6.5 billion.
Emmanuel V. Rubio, president and chief executive officer of AboitizPower, said in a virtual media briefing on Wednesday evening that the company’s third-quarter performance was 39% better than the second quarter partly due to the availability of more coal facilities and the easing of lockdown measures.
“This was on account of higher availability of our coal facilities, better hydrology [in preparation for] La Nina for the rest of the year until Q1 of 2021, and higher customer demand given the looser quarantine,” Mr. Rubio said.
However, he noted that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were pushed back by 11% year on year because of lower demand due to the global health crisis, and lower water inflows in the company’s hydro facilities.
He added that AboitizPower paid more taxes during the third quarter of the year since its income tax holidays had expired during that period.
“The pandemic has significantly impacted our financial performance, but we have sustained the delivery of much-needed energy products and services to our customers and our communities,” Mr. Rubio said.
He also talked about the company’s growth strategy in the next decade, which focused on “significantly growing their renewables portfolio and shifting their energy mix into a 50-50 ‘Cleanergy’ and thermal capacity.”
The AboitizPower executive said that, moving forward, the company aims to focus on environmental sustainability as it implements its 10-year strategy.
AboitizPower shares on Thursday closed at P27.15 apiece, a 1.69% increase from its previous finish. — Angelica Y. Yang
https://www.bworldonline.com/aboitizpowers-supercritical-power-plant-in-bataan-to-go-online-in-2021/
ABOITIZ Power Corp. has scheduled the two units of a subsidiary’s 1,336-megawatt (MW) supercritical coal-fired power plant in Dinginin, Bataan to start operating commercially around the middle of next year.
In a statement late on Wednesday, the listed energy company said the first unit of GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. is set to synchronize with the grid by the end of the year and start operating by the second quarter of 2021.
The second unit will be synchronized and start earning commissioning revenues by the second quarter of next year. It is scheduled to start operating commercially by the third quarter. The two units have an identical capacity.
AboitizPower, which accounted for nearly half of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.’s income as of the third quarter, said its ownership of the plant allows it to surpass its 4,000-MW target “attributable” capacity while serving the country’s base load energy demand.
AboitizPower did not give details on its attributable capacity or its share in the new energy generating project. GNPower Dinginin is a joint venture of AC Energy, Inc., AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Power, Inc. and Power Partners Ltd. Co.
On its website, the GNPower Dinginin claims to be the “biggest coal-fired power plant” to be built in the Philippines. It currently has contracts with 30 distribution utilities and two retail electricity suppliers.
The target commercial run of the power plant comes as AboitizPower suffered a 32% fall in its third-quarter consolidated net income to P3.3 billion.
For the three quarters to September, its net income plunged by 48% to P7 billion, including non-recurring gains. Without the one-off gains, its core net income was down 53% to P6.5 billion.
Emmanuel V. Rubio, president and chief executive officer of AboitizPower, said in a virtual media briefing on Wednesday evening that the company’s third-quarter performance was 39% better than the second quarter partly due to the availability of more coal facilities and the easing of lockdown measures.
“This was on account of higher availability of our coal facilities, better hydrology [in preparation for] La Nina for the rest of the year until Q1 of 2021, and higher customer demand given the looser quarantine,” Mr. Rubio said.
However, he noted that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were pushed back by 11% year on year because of lower demand due to the global health crisis, and lower water inflows in the company’s hydro facilities.
He added that AboitizPower paid more taxes during the third quarter of the year since its income tax holidays had expired during that period.
“The pandemic has significantly impacted our financial performance, but we have sustained the delivery of much-needed energy products and services to our customers and our communities,” Mr. Rubio said.
He also talked about the company’s growth strategy in the next decade, which focused on “significantly growing their renewables portfolio and shifting their energy mix into a 50-50 ‘Cleanergy’ and thermal capacity.”
The AboitizPower executive said that, moving forward, the company aims to focus on environmental sustainability as it implements its 10-year strategy.
AboitizPower shares on Thursday closed at P27.15 apiece, a 1.69% increase from its previous finish. — Angelica Y. Yang
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Coal to remain key component of PH energy mix
By: Ronnel W. Domingo - 05:12 AM November 05, 2020
https://business.inquirer.net/311090/coal-to-remain-key-component-of-ph-energy-mix
Coal-fired power plants continue to be an important component of the Philippines’ energy mix and the government cannot afford to mandate a retirement of such facilities although it is prepared to disallow additional projects, according to Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
Cusi said in an online press briefing on Wednesday there would be no policy to bar existing power plants from continuing operations.
Also, development of coal-fired projects that are yet to be built but have secured the Department of Energy’s (DOE) endorsement as well as the necessary permits from other agencies—the ones classified as “committed” or “indicative” projects—will be allowed to continue.
“The moratorium on greenfield coal-fired power plants applies only to the ones that have not yet been proposed,” Cusi reiterated, referring to projects whose proponents have not filed their applications for DOE endorsement or for permits.
Following the energy chief’s announcement last Oct. 27 of the moratorium, environmentalist groups said the DOE should make good on its intention and also follow through by further curtailing the use of coal.
The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) and allied organizations expect the moratorium to result in the shelving of nine coal projects with a total capacity of 5,600 megawatts, representing 40 percent of coal-fired power generation capacity in the pipeline.
Also, CEED urged the DOE to expand the moratorium to cover the remaining 8,100 MW of new coal-fired capacity that is cued for development, many of which have not or have barely started construction due to quarantine restrictions as well as resistance from affected communities.
Further, the group said the DOE’s next step should be the mandatory retirement of operating old coal plants at the end of their economic lifespan as well as early retirement of newly operating coal plants by the end of this decade.
“We cannot do that. Where will we get power [to replace supply coming from the coal-fired plants], sa impyerno (from hell)?” Cusi said.
When asked for details of the moratorium that was announced more than a week ago, Cusi said they were still in the process of writing down a formal advisory that would be made public eventually.
https://business.inquirer.net/311090/coal-to-remain-key-component-of-ph-energy-mix
Coal-fired power plants continue to be an important component of the Philippines’ energy mix and the government cannot afford to mandate a retirement of such facilities although it is prepared to disallow additional projects, according to Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
Cusi said in an online press briefing on Wednesday there would be no policy to bar existing power plants from continuing operations.
Also, development of coal-fired projects that are yet to be built but have secured the Department of Energy’s (DOE) endorsement as well as the necessary permits from other agencies—the ones classified as “committed” or “indicative” projects—will be allowed to continue.
“The moratorium on greenfield coal-fired power plants applies only to the ones that have not yet been proposed,” Cusi reiterated, referring to projects whose proponents have not filed their applications for DOE endorsement or for permits.
Following the energy chief’s announcement last Oct. 27 of the moratorium, environmentalist groups said the DOE should make good on its intention and also follow through by further curtailing the use of coal.
The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) and allied organizations expect the moratorium to result in the shelving of nine coal projects with a total capacity of 5,600 megawatts, representing 40 percent of coal-fired power generation capacity in the pipeline.
Also, CEED urged the DOE to expand the moratorium to cover the remaining 8,100 MW of new coal-fired capacity that is cued for development, many of which have not or have barely started construction due to quarantine restrictions as well as resistance from affected communities.
Further, the group said the DOE’s next step should be the mandatory retirement of operating old coal plants at the end of their economic lifespan as well as early retirement of newly operating coal plants by the end of this decade.
“We cannot do that. Where will we get power [to replace supply coming from the coal-fired plants], sa impyerno (from hell)?” Cusi said.
When asked for details of the moratorium that was announced more than a week ago, Cusi said they were still in the process of writing down a formal advisory that would be made public eventually.
Ayala energy unit gets P442-M infusion to accelerate projects
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:10 AM November 05, 2020
https://business.inquirer.net/311088/ayala-energy-unit-gets-p442-m-infusion-to-accelerate-projects
AC Energy Philippines Inc. (ACEN) has cued an infusion of P442 million into its subsidiary ACE Endevor Inc. to help in the development of power projects that will be built from scratch and for the expansion of existing facilities.
The Ayala group’s energy platform said in a disclosure it signed a subscription agreement for about 4.42 million shares in ACE Endevor at P100 apiece, representing 13.5 percent of the latter’s total outstanding shares.
“The subscription will be used by ACE Endevor to fund the requirements of its various development projects,” the disclosure read.
Under the ACEN umbrella, ACE Endevor is tasked with developing greenfield projects as well as looking at expansion opportunities in existing plants.
Last August, ACEN approved a P5-billion plan for ACE Endevor to acquire land amid moves to develop various projects in different areas across the country.
Back then, ACEN said the subsidiary was looking at expanding into other parts of the Philippines for the development of power generation and other types of projects.
One of the projects that ACE Endevor is involved in is the 150-MW Ingrid diesel-fired power plant in Rizal province, which is expected to start operation in Pililla town in the first quarter of 2021.
The Ingrid project still needs a go-ahead from the Philippine Competition Commission.
https://business.inquirer.net/311088/ayala-energy-unit-gets-p442-m-infusion-to-accelerate-projects
AC Energy Philippines Inc. (ACEN) has cued an infusion of P442 million into its subsidiary ACE Endevor Inc. to help in the development of power projects that will be built from scratch and for the expansion of existing facilities.
The Ayala group’s energy platform said in a disclosure it signed a subscription agreement for about 4.42 million shares in ACE Endevor at P100 apiece, representing 13.5 percent of the latter’s total outstanding shares.
“The subscription will be used by ACE Endevor to fund the requirements of its various development projects,” the disclosure read.
Under the ACEN umbrella, ACE Endevor is tasked with developing greenfield projects as well as looking at expansion opportunities in existing plants.
Last August, ACEN approved a P5-billion plan for ACE Endevor to acquire land amid moves to develop various projects in different areas across the country.
Back then, ACEN said the subsidiary was looking at expanding into other parts of the Philippines for the development of power generation and other types of projects.
One of the projects that ACE Endevor is involved in is the 150-MW Ingrid diesel-fired power plant in Rizal province, which is expected to start operation in Pililla town in the first quarter of 2021.
The Ingrid project still needs a go-ahead from the Philippine Competition Commission.
PSALM invites bidders for real estate properties in Bohol, GenSan
November 5, 2020 | 12:01 am
https://www.bworldonline.com/psalm-invites-bidders-for-real-estate-properties-in-bohol-gensan/
STATE-LED Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has opened its second round of bids for qualified individuals, corporations and partnerships for the sale of the agency’s real estate properties across the country.
Interested parties may participate and bid for the sale of the 7 available lots through a public bidding on an “as-is, where-is” and “in Cash basis”, PSALM said in a press release on Wednesday.
Available properties include four lots and improvements in Loboc, Bohol, two lots in General Santos (GenSan) City and one lot in Camalaniugan, Cagayan.
The minimum bid prices for the PSALM’s Loboc, GenSan and Camalaniugan properties are P12.14 million, P10.97 million and P3.22 million respectively.
Bidders may participate in one or more projects, but they are required to submit one bid per project.
Interested parties who wish to further participate in the bidding must pay a non-refundable participation fee of P12,500 for the Loboc property; P11,000 for the GenSan City property, and P4,000 for the Camalaniugan property.
PSALM said bids must be in the form of cash or a manager’s check equivalent to at least 10% of the bid price. Within 10 business days, the buyer must pay a “one-time full payment of the purchase price according to instructions to be issued by the government entity.”
The second round of bidding is open to all individuals/sole proprietorships, corporations and partnerships that are registered and organized in the Philippines. They must be at least 60% Filipino-owned, and authorized by the law to acquire, own, hold, or develop real properties in the country.
Interested bidders can download the bidding package, which is available on PSALM’s website.
The pre-bid conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 17, and the bid submission deadline is at 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 2.
Under Republic Act No. 9136 or Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), PSALM is mandated to manage the orderly sale, disposition and privatization of the National Power Corp.’s (Napocor) assets, including those of real estate.
By doing this, the wholly owned government entity aims to liquidate all of Napocor’s financial obligations and stranded contract costs in an optimal manner. — Angelica Y. Yang
https://www.bworldonline.com/psalm-invites-bidders-for-real-estate-properties-in-bohol-gensan/
STATE-LED Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has opened its second round of bids for qualified individuals, corporations and partnerships for the sale of the agency’s real estate properties across the country.
Interested parties may participate and bid for the sale of the 7 available lots through a public bidding on an “as-is, where-is” and “in Cash basis”, PSALM said in a press release on Wednesday.
Available properties include four lots and improvements in Loboc, Bohol, two lots in General Santos (GenSan) City and one lot in Camalaniugan, Cagayan.
The minimum bid prices for the PSALM’s Loboc, GenSan and Camalaniugan properties are P12.14 million, P10.97 million and P3.22 million respectively.
Bidders may participate in one or more projects, but they are required to submit one bid per project.
Interested parties who wish to further participate in the bidding must pay a non-refundable participation fee of P12,500 for the Loboc property; P11,000 for the GenSan City property, and P4,000 for the Camalaniugan property.
PSALM said bids must be in the form of cash or a manager’s check equivalent to at least 10% of the bid price. Within 10 business days, the buyer must pay a “one-time full payment of the purchase price according to instructions to be issued by the government entity.”
The second round of bidding is open to all individuals/sole proprietorships, corporations and partnerships that are registered and organized in the Philippines. They must be at least 60% Filipino-owned, and authorized by the law to acquire, own, hold, or develop real properties in the country.
Interested bidders can download the bidding package, which is available on PSALM’s website.
The pre-bid conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 17, and the bid submission deadline is at 2:00 p.m. on Dec. 2.
Under Republic Act No. 9136 or Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), PSALM is mandated to manage the orderly sale, disposition and privatization of the National Power Corp.’s (Napocor) assets, including those of real estate.
By doing this, the wholly owned government entity aims to liquidate all of Napocor’s financial obligations and stranded contract costs in an optimal manner. — Angelica Y. Yang
Cusi rejects total ban on coal power plants
posted November 04, 2020 at 06:05 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338658/cusi-rejects-total-ban-on-coal-power-plants.html
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Wednesday rejected calls for a total ban on coal in the power generation mix following the imposition of the moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.
“We are doing what is good for our country. If we immediately stop coal, where do we get the power?” Cusi said.
Cusi said the DOE advisory to investors on the moratorium was being finalized but he expected the new government policy to usher in new investments in other sources of energy.
“There will be opening for other sources of energy to take the place of coal. This change in policy, we are doing this based on the power needs of the country,” the energy chief said.
“We’ve seen we already have enough supply of baseload. We are looking at more flexible sources like gas, geothermal, hydro and others,” he said.
Cusi said he was not expecting any problem in supply of power or electricity because of the moratorium.
“We are just balancing our sources,” he said, adding that the lifting of the moratorium, “will depend on whatever the prevailing situation in the future and what is needed by the country.”
Cusi said the Department of Energy would no longer accept new coal-fired power applications.
“We are not going to accept any coal applications…Those who have already come in and are already committed, we are going to process that but they should use clean coal technology,” Cusi said.
There are 3,436 megawatts of committed coal-fired power plants in Luzon, according to the latest report of the DOE.
Cusi last week declared a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants following a periodic assessment of the country’s energy requirements.
He said this would help build a more sustainable power system that would be resilient in the face of structural changes in demand and will be flexible enough to accommodate the entry of new, cleaner and indigenous technological innovations.
“While we have initially embraced a technology neutral policy, our periodic assessment of our country's energy requirements is paving the way for innovative adaptations in our policy direction,” Cusi said earlier.
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/338658/cusi-rejects-total-ban-on-coal-power-plants.html
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Wednesday rejected calls for a total ban on coal in the power generation mix following the imposition of the moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.
“We are doing what is good for our country. If we immediately stop coal, where do we get the power?” Cusi said.
Cusi said the DOE advisory to investors on the moratorium was being finalized but he expected the new government policy to usher in new investments in other sources of energy.
“There will be opening for other sources of energy to take the place of coal. This change in policy, we are doing this based on the power needs of the country,” the energy chief said.
“We’ve seen we already have enough supply of baseload. We are looking at more flexible sources like gas, geothermal, hydro and others,” he said.
Cusi said he was not expecting any problem in supply of power or electricity because of the moratorium.
“We are just balancing our sources,” he said, adding that the lifting of the moratorium, “will depend on whatever the prevailing situation in the future and what is needed by the country.”
Cusi said the Department of Energy would no longer accept new coal-fired power applications.
“We are not going to accept any coal applications…Those who have already come in and are already committed, we are going to process that but they should use clean coal technology,” Cusi said.
There are 3,436 megawatts of committed coal-fired power plants in Luzon, according to the latest report of the DOE.
Cusi last week declared a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield or new coal power plants following a periodic assessment of the country’s energy requirements.
He said this would help build a more sustainable power system that would be resilient in the face of structural changes in demand and will be flexible enough to accommodate the entry of new, cleaner and indigenous technological innovations.
“While we have initially embraced a technology neutral policy, our periodic assessment of our country's energy requirements is paving the way for innovative adaptations in our policy direction,” Cusi said earlier.
San Miguel re-evaluates interest in Malampaya
Published November 4, 2020, 11:28 AM by Myrna M. Velasco
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/04/san-miguel-re-evaluates-interest-in-malampaya/
Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corporation indicated that it is still weighing in if it will pursue its intent to join the bidding for the 45-percent stake of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) in the multi-billion Malampaya deep-water-gas to power project.
SMC President and COO Ramon S. Ang said the company just initially signified its interest in the asset, because as a business, it must always be on the lookout for opportunities – including the merger and acquisition (M&A) deals dangled in markets.
“In every transaction being offered in the market, we always signify our intention to review, to study if it’s a good deal, and we will definitely consider to buy if it’s a good deal,” he stressed.
Ang qualified though that the conglomerate has not taken initial steps yet to advance discussions with Shell’s team in Singapore or even with its financial advisor JP Morgan relating to the Malampaya asset divestment.
The SMC executive said he prefers to keep any decision on that targeted acquisition closer to his chest, and will just let competitors guessing on whether or not he will eventually firm up his bid on the asset.
“Let them guess…if our studies would show that it (Malampaya) is not a viable acquisition, then we will just keep quiet and will no longer join the bidding,” Ang said.
Several Filipino companies already sounded off interest to participate in the acquisition deal – including PXP Energy of business magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan; Udenna Corporation of businessman Dennis Uy; as well as the state-run Philippine National Oil Company.
Less known for now are the interested foreign companies that may have deeper pockets and possess more extensive technical experience in gas field operations.
Udenna previously stated it will invoke its ‘right to match’ any offer that Shell will accept as a “winning bid”- anchoring that move on a provision of the joint operating agreement (JOA) of Service Contract 38 or the license for the Malampaya project.
The Uy-led firm has invited state-owned PNOC-Exploration Corporation to be its partner in the targeted acquisition, so their tandem could eventually take full control of the gas field’s operations.
The divestment of Shell’s stake in Malampaya is deemed a ‘not so simple’ transaction; and the government will need to judiciously assess the technical capacity of the winning bidder because its job involves technical complexities of operating a gas field that will have implications on security of the country’s energy supply.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/04/san-miguel-re-evaluates-interest-in-malampaya/
Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corporation indicated that it is still weighing in if it will pursue its intent to join the bidding for the 45-percent stake of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) in the multi-billion Malampaya deep-water-gas to power project.
SMC President and COO Ramon S. Ang said the company just initially signified its interest in the asset, because as a business, it must always be on the lookout for opportunities – including the merger and acquisition (M&A) deals dangled in markets.
“In every transaction being offered in the market, we always signify our intention to review, to study if it’s a good deal, and we will definitely consider to buy if it’s a good deal,” he stressed.
Ang qualified though that the conglomerate has not taken initial steps yet to advance discussions with Shell’s team in Singapore or even with its financial advisor JP Morgan relating to the Malampaya asset divestment.
The SMC executive said he prefers to keep any decision on that targeted acquisition closer to his chest, and will just let competitors guessing on whether or not he will eventually firm up his bid on the asset.
“Let them guess…if our studies would show that it (Malampaya) is not a viable acquisition, then we will just keep quiet and will no longer join the bidding,” Ang said.
Several Filipino companies already sounded off interest to participate in the acquisition deal – including PXP Energy of business magnate Manuel V. Pangilinan; Udenna Corporation of businessman Dennis Uy; as well as the state-run Philippine National Oil Company.
Less known for now are the interested foreign companies that may have deeper pockets and possess more extensive technical experience in gas field operations.
Udenna previously stated it will invoke its ‘right to match’ any offer that Shell will accept as a “winning bid”- anchoring that move on a provision of the joint operating agreement (JOA) of Service Contract 38 or the license for the Malampaya project.
The Uy-led firm has invited state-owned PNOC-Exploration Corporation to be its partner in the targeted acquisition, so their tandem could eventually take full control of the gas field’s operations.
The divestment of Shell’s stake in Malampaya is deemed a ‘not so simple’ transaction; and the government will need to judiciously assess the technical capacity of the winning bidder because its job involves technical complexities of operating a gas field that will have implications on security of the country’s energy supply.
Weak power unit pulls down AEV income
By VG Cabuag November 4, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/04/weak-power-unit-pulls-down-aev-income/
Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) said its net income in January to September fell 35 percent to P4.4 billion from last year’s P6.8 billion, as the contribution of its power unit declined.
Power accounted for 49 percent of total income contributions to the company while financial services accounted for 39 percent, food at 9 percent, infrastructure at 3 percent and real estate at 1 percent.
The company did not provide its revenue for the period.
“The first nine months of the year brought about unprecedented challenges that truly tested the resilience of the nation and the Aboitiz group as well. We saw some signs of recovery in the third quarter, but we will continue to operate with caution and focus on providing the country with the services it needs to cope and recover,” Sabin M. Aboitiz, the company’s president and CEO, said.
“Moving forward, we expect our environmental, social and governance initiatives will help us achieve our targets by the end of the decade and in the years to come. Digital innovation played an important role in helping us cope with this year’s challenges, and will continue to enable us in the future.”
Aboitiz Power Corp.’s net income contribution to AEV in January to September plunged by half to P5.4 billion from last year’s P10.4 billion.
On a standalone basis, Aboitiz Power’s core net income was at P6.47 billion, 53 percent lower than last year’s record.
Income contribution from the generation and retail electricity supply businesses, which accounted for 69 percent of total income contribution from Aboitiz Power’s business segments, was cut by half to P6.3 billion from last year’s figure.
Union Bank of the Philippines’s income rose by a mere 2 percent to P4.3 billion, from last year’s P4.2 billion. On a standalone basis, Union Bank recorded a net income of P8.5 billion, 1 percent lower than the P8.6 billion last year.
AEV’s non-listed food units’ income contribution reached P969 million, 5 percent lower than the P1 billion last year. These food companies are Pilmico Foods Corp., Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp. and Pilmico International Pte. Ltd., which includes Gold Coin Management Holdings Pte. Ltd.
Its domestic unit reported a net income of P585 million for the period. Its farms business segment reported a net loss of P703 million due to decreased margins due to higher production costs and lower selling prices caused by the industry-wide effect of the African swine fever. This was exacerbated by lower sales volume due to transport restrictions on pork and pigs imposed in several provinces in Luzon.
The feeds business segment recorded a net income of P728 million, double from last year’s figure, while the flour business segment recorded P572 million in net income, 27 percent higher than the previous year’s record.
Contribution from its international food units reached P383 million, a 22-percent increase from last year, due to the full-year effect of the 100-percent ownership in Gold Coin.
Aboitiz Land Inc. reported a consolidated net income of P85 million, 90 percent lower than the P829 million a year ago.
Its revenues reached P2.1 billion, 2 percent higher than last year due to higher revenue from its industrial business, resulting from an increase in revenue recognized from industrial lots sold. However, the performance of Aboitiz Land’s residential business offset the gains from the industrial business due to a slowdown caused by lockdown restrictions.
The residential business unit contributed P715 million, the commercial business unit contributed P159 million, while the industrial business unit and other subsidiaries contributed the remaining P1.3 billion.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/11/04/weak-power-unit-pulls-down-aev-income/
Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) said its net income in January to September fell 35 percent to P4.4 billion from last year’s P6.8 billion, as the contribution of its power unit declined.
Power accounted for 49 percent of total income contributions to the company while financial services accounted for 39 percent, food at 9 percent, infrastructure at 3 percent and real estate at 1 percent.
The company did not provide its revenue for the period.
“The first nine months of the year brought about unprecedented challenges that truly tested the resilience of the nation and the Aboitiz group as well. We saw some signs of recovery in the third quarter, but we will continue to operate with caution and focus on providing the country with the services it needs to cope and recover,” Sabin M. Aboitiz, the company’s president and CEO, said.
“Moving forward, we expect our environmental, social and governance initiatives will help us achieve our targets by the end of the decade and in the years to come. Digital innovation played an important role in helping us cope with this year’s challenges, and will continue to enable us in the future.”
Aboitiz Power Corp.’s net income contribution to AEV in January to September plunged by half to P5.4 billion from last year’s P10.4 billion.
On a standalone basis, Aboitiz Power’s core net income was at P6.47 billion, 53 percent lower than last year’s record.
Income contribution from the generation and retail electricity supply businesses, which accounted for 69 percent of total income contribution from Aboitiz Power’s business segments, was cut by half to P6.3 billion from last year’s figure.
Union Bank of the Philippines’s income rose by a mere 2 percent to P4.3 billion, from last year’s P4.2 billion. On a standalone basis, Union Bank recorded a net income of P8.5 billion, 1 percent lower than the P8.6 billion last year.
AEV’s non-listed food units’ income contribution reached P969 million, 5 percent lower than the P1 billion last year. These food companies are Pilmico Foods Corp., Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp. and Pilmico International Pte. Ltd., which includes Gold Coin Management Holdings Pte. Ltd.
Its domestic unit reported a net income of P585 million for the period. Its farms business segment reported a net loss of P703 million due to decreased margins due to higher production costs and lower selling prices caused by the industry-wide effect of the African swine fever. This was exacerbated by lower sales volume due to transport restrictions on pork and pigs imposed in several provinces in Luzon.
The feeds business segment recorded a net income of P728 million, double from last year’s figure, while the flour business segment recorded P572 million in net income, 27 percent higher than the previous year’s record.
Contribution from its international food units reached P383 million, a 22-percent increase from last year, due to the full-year effect of the 100-percent ownership in Gold Coin.
Aboitiz Land Inc. reported a consolidated net income of P85 million, 90 percent lower than the P829 million a year ago.
Its revenues reached P2.1 billion, 2 percent higher than last year due to higher revenue from its industrial business, resulting from an increase in revenue recognized from industrial lots sold. However, the performance of Aboitiz Land’s residential business offset the gains from the industrial business due to a slowdown caused by lockdown restrictions.
The residential business unit contributed P715 million, the commercial business unit contributed P159 million, while the industrial business unit and other subsidiaries contributed the remaining P1.3 billion.
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