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    First Gen to Start Work on Philippines Terminal in H2: Press

Summary

Earlier this year, First Gen’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Fgen LNG, filed the application for a permit to construct, expand, rehabilitate and modify its existing jetty with the department of energy.

by: Shardul Sharma

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Natural Gas & LNG News, Asia/Oceania, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Premium, Security of Supply, Corporate, Infrastructure, News By Country, Philippines

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First Gen to Start Work on Philippines Terminal in H2: Press

Manila-listed First Gen is expecting to start building its floating LNG terminal in Batangas in the Philippines in the second half of the year, according to media reports published on July 30.

“We are hoping to start construction in the second half of this year,” company’s president Francis Giles B. Puno said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on July 29. Earlier this year, First Gen’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Fgen LNG, filed the application for a permit to construct, expand, rehabilitate and modify (PCERM) its existing jetty with the department of energy. A PCERM is required by the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Regulation (PDNGR).

The construction kickoff is dependent on the approval of the said permit, BusinessWorld reported quoting Puno. Earlier this month, First Gen shortlisted three companies to participate in a competitive selection process for the chartering of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for its Batangas project.

In December 2018, Japanese utility, Tokyo Gas, signed an agreement with First Gen to develop an LNG receiving terminal in the country. Tokyo Gas has a 20% stake in Fgen LNG. In September last year, First Gen picked Japan’s JGC Corporation for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work for the project.

Since January, the company spent $60mn out of the allotted $300mn budget for the project, BusinessWorld reported.

The company has stated that the project, and the early entry of LNG, will play a critical role in ensuring the energy security of the Luzon grid and the Philippines. The offshore Malampaya gas field is declining and gas supplies for the country’s power plants are looking ever less reliable.

First Gen has about 2 GW generating capacity from four operating gas assets – the 1-GW Santa Rita plant, the 500-MW San Lorenzo plant, the 414-MW San Gabriel plant and the 97-MW Avion plant – all of which depend on Malampaya's gas, whose gas sales contract expires in 2024. They are all at Batangas City.

 

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