(The Philippine Star) - March 7,
2020 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led
First Gen Corp. is seeking government clearance to build a floating storage and
regasification unit (FSRU) at its Batangas liquefied natural gas terminal.
In a disclosure to the Philippine
Stock Exchange Thursday, First Gen said its wholly owned subsidiary FGEN LNG
Corp. submitted an application to the Department of Energy (DOE) for a permit
to construct, expand, rehabilitate and modify (PCERM) for interim offshore LNG
terminal within the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City.
The application is in compliance
with the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Regulation (PDNGR) and in compliance
with the conditions of the notice to proceed granted by the DOE in March 2019.
The permit sought consists of
construction works necessary to modify First Gen’s existing liquid fuel jetty
that will enable it to become multiple-use (allowing the receipt of large and
small-scale LNG vessels as well as liquid fuel vessels) and to build an adjunct
onshore gas receiving facility.
If the application is granted by the
DOE, FGEN LNG could commence project construction as early as May this year in
order to be able to receive LNG as early as the third quarter of 2022.
Once completed, the project will
allow First Gen to be able to bring in an FSRU on an interim basis and thus
accelerate FGEN LNG’s ability to introduce LNG to the Philippines.
The FSRU is a LNG storage ship that
has an onboard regasification plant capable of returning LNG back into a
gaseous state.
“This innovation can readily serve
the natural gas requirements of existing and future gas-fired power plants of
third parties and FGEN LNG affiliates and bring the country closer to its goals
of energy security, expanded energy access and low-carbon future which are
among the stated objectives of the Philippine Energy Plan 2017-2040,” First Gen
said.
Last year, the company decided to
bring in a FSRU to be able to start importing gas supply within the Duterte
administration, way ahead of the expiration of the Malampaya service contract
in 2024. An on-shore LNG terminal will then be built for the long term.
The initial project will play a
critical role in ensuring the energy security of the Luzon grid and the whole
country.
This as the indigenous Malampaya gas
resource is expected to be less reliable in producing and providing sufficient
fuel supply for the country’s existing gas-fired power plants, and even less so
for additional gas-fired power plants.
“The entry of LNG will encourage new
gas-fired power plant developments as well as industrial and transport
industries to consider it as a replacement to more costly and polluting fuels,”
First Gen said.
The interim offshore LNG terminal
represents the initial phase of the FGEN Batangas LNG Terminal which was
previously declared by the Energy Investment Coordinating Council through the
DOE as an energy project of national significance under Executive Order No. 30.
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