The Department of Energy (DOE) indicated that out of the seven liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects with government permits, only two gas import facilities may actually reach completion while four others are experiencing delays and another one already dropped from the race.
In a briefing with the media, DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said the first LNG import terminal anticipated to be reaching completion will be the project of Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company (AG&P) in partnership with local firm Linseed Field Power Corporation, although he qualified that the facility’s commercial operation date (COD) was also moved from July to August this year.
“The Linseed (LNG facility) has been moved slightly, but this has to be confirmed in the meeting this month. From July 1, they may end up having commissioned the regas terminal instead on August 1,” he stated.
The other gas terminal that will be on stream by fourth quarter this year, according to the energy official, will be the interim offshore LNG facility of First Gen Corporation.
“For First Gen, there are no changes (on project timeline). Scheduled commissioning is still around end of October or at beginning of November. So it appears they can deliver the project,” Abad stressed.
He added that in DOE’s last meeting with First Gen, the company gave guarantee on the availability of LNG supply once the facility reaches commercial commissioning.
On the other LNG facilities, Abad specified that Shell Energy Philippines is still at its permitting phase while Vires Energy Corporation and Excelerate Energy are still scouting for off-takes (power supply agreements) for proposed anchor power plant projects, a process may include plans of joining the competitive selection process (CSP) of power utility giant Manila Electric Company.
Meanwhile, the LNG terminal venture originally proposed by the group of businessman Lucio Tan had already been shelved while the long-delayed project of Energy World Corporation (EWC) has no certainty yet as to its timetable.
For the AG&P-Linseed LNG terminal, in particular, Abad noted that a separate discussion has to be carried out with South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC), a subsidiary company of San Miguel group, as to when it could bring in LNG supply, “because it will be SPPC that will procure LNG and Linseed will just operate the terminal.”
He expounded that the agreement between San Miguel and AG&P is that SPPC will lease the LNG terminal and the San Miguel subsidiary-firm will also be in-charge of trading for LNG supply that will be brought into the country.
On the project's delayed completion, Abad pointed out that 40 percent of AG&P’s work program had been on installation components, “and there were delays in the delivery of equipment from China and South Korea; so we’re waiting that these would be able to arrive on time.”
To check on the LNG facility’s committed delivery date, the DOE official narrated that the DOE will be carrying out site inspection this May 16, “to assure that their reported delay is what’s actually happening on the ground.”
Once the AG&P-Linseed LNG terminal reaches commercial operation, it will be providing the gas fuel needs of the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan gas-fired power facility as its gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA) with Malampaya will already expire in June this year.