PNOC hoping for more CNG buses; Mamplasan CNG plant to be running by March

The Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) is hoping that the Department of Transportation and Communications will grant a franchise to 27 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in time for the start of operations of the Mamplasan CNG station in Laguna in March, a company official said. PNOC-EC vice president Silvestre Punsalan III said there are currently 37 buses running on CNG, and they hope to raise the number to 60 by the end of the year. "We're hoping for DOTC to approve the 27 CNG buses," he said. Compressed natural gas is a clear, odorless gas that burns cleaner than gasoline, diesel and propane and so is an ecologically friendlier fuel, though it still produces some greenhouse gases. Punsalan said the company is presently evaluating the bidding for the CNG equipment for the Mamplasan refilling station. "Seven firms submitted for the CNG equipment, for review by the Bids and Awards Committee," he said, but did not say when the committee will issue the notice of award to the winning bidders. PNOC-EC has already issued a notice for the supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of the station’s CNG equipment package. The equipment package, estimated to have cost P77.6 million, is comprised of nine major units: a gas compressor, a storage cylinder, a CNG dispenser, an air compressor, auxiliary equipment, a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, a tube-type cylinder cascade, a trailer and a transformer. Punsalan said the government is on track for the takeover of the Mamplasan CNG station from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum in March. CNG bus operators had repeatedly complained of the limited supply of CNG, prompting the government to order the takeover of the facility. "By March, the station...will be 100-percent owned by PNOC-EC," Punsalan said. He said that once the station is running, the cost of CNG per liter to be sold to the buses will go up from the P14.50 per liter previously approved for the pilot program. "If the Mamplasan gas station is successful, we will build more gas stations," Punsalan said. The Malampaya gas field provides the CNG supply for the program. The entire CNG project is estimated to cost around P400 million over the next two years. — BM, GMA News