First Gen picks BW Gas for 5-year chartering of FSRU

 

Published April 5, 2021, 2:36 PM by Myrna M. Velasco

https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/05/first-gen-picks-bw-gas-for-5-year-chartering-of-fsru/

 

Lopez-led First Gen Corporation has selected Norwegian firm BW Gas Limited for its five-year time chartering of floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) relative to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility that it will be setting up at its Clean Energy Complex in Batangas.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, First Gen stated that “the FSRU to be provided – the BW Paris – has LNG storage capacity of 162,400 m3 and a nominal and peak gas send out capacity of 500 MM scfd (million standard cubic feet per day) and 750 MM scfd, respectively.”

The interim LNG import terminal of the company is being advanced to commercial fruition by its subsidiary FGEN LNG Corporation, in partnership with Japanese firm Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd.

BW Gas Limited has been offering integrated solutions to clients across the LNG value chain; and it is also an established global player in the maritime industry — primarily for shipping, floating infrastructure, deep water oil and gas production; as well as in the introduction of new technologies for the sector.

First Gen explained that the nominal send out capacity of the chartered BW Paris  “is 25-percent more than the production capability of Malampaya, which at its peak produced a maximum gas volume of approximately 400 MM scfd.”

The Lopez firm is eyeing commercial operation date for its LNG import facility by the third quarter of 2022 – which is being strategically timed with the anticipated decline of gas production at the Malampaya field.

The company said its FSRU would be able to “serve the natural gas requirements of existing and future gas-fired power plants of third parties and FGEN LNG facilities.”

First Gen similarly indicated that the BW Paris FSRU shall be capable of “providing ancillary services such as the reloading of LNG into trucks and small-scale LNG vessels, which can then distribute LNG to nearby industrial areas as well as the rest of the Philippine archipelago.”

The Lopez company laid down plans last year to introduce LNG to locator-firms at special economic zones; and also aligning ventures for LNG-fired generation that will cater to off-grid areas in various parts of the country.

First Gen emphasized “the project will play a critical role in ensuring the energy security of the Luzon grid and the Philippines, particularly 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 company further noted that the LNG import facility “will encourage new power plant developments, as well as industrial and transport industries, to consider it as a replacement to more costly and polluting fuels.”

The country currently has 3,211 megawatts of gas-fired generating capacity and there are several greenfield projects anticipated to take off from blueprints in the immediate term.