Lopez firm subsidiary FGEN LNG Corporation has tapped Australia-based McConnell Dowell as its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for its US$300 million interim liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal project.

The phase of its interim LNG terminal (IOT) to be covered by McConnell Dowell’s work will be the modification of its existing jetty; and then the targeted installation of an onshore gas receiving facility.

And while working on that component of the project, First Gen Corporation indicated that it is also “preparing to issue a binding invitation to tender for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) upon completion of its ongoing non-binding process.”

The company has communicated to the Department of Energy (DOE) that the initial phase of its development will be an installation of FSRU so it can bring gas to the country as early as 2022; then a more permanent onshore LNG terminal will be constructed afterwards.

On the selection of McConnell Dowell in the tendering process, Jonathan Russell, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of First Gen, noted that their chosen EPC contractor “has extensive international experience in building similar LNG facilities in Australia and Southeast Asia.”

The LNG projects recently completed by McConnell Dowell include the Donggi Senoro LNG facility in Sulawesi, Indonesia; and marine works at the Tangguh LNG expansion project in West Papua, Indonesia.
Russell said their company is firming up the documentation processes and will be executing the EPC contract with McConnell Dowell in the next few days.

“The IOT project will allow First Gen to accelerate its ability to introduce LNG to the Philippines as early as third quarter 2022, to serve the natural gas requirements of existing and future gas-fired power plants of third parties and FGEN LNG affiliates,” the Lopez firm stated.

The company emphasized once the warranted FGEN LNG’s preparations for the commencement of the IOT project are complete, construction phase could begin as early as fourth quarter this year.

First Gen executives previously apprised the media that the capital outlay for the IOT will be roughly US$300 million and spending will be spread over three years (until 2022). And when the targeted permanent onshore terminal is set up, total investments will reach US$1.0 billion.

The LNG import facility of the Lopez group is seen as a strategic investment to ensure the flow of gas fuel into the country – hinging it to the lapse of the Malampaya field’s service contract in 2024.

First Gen reiterated “the entry of LNG 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 company has been negotiating with gas suppliers since last year, so that part of the project development activity can keep pace with the targeted completion of the interim facility in 2022.