Group of Dennis Uy, China oil firm likely to bag LNG terminal project

The group of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy's Phoenix Petroleum and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) is likely to be given the go-ahead by the Department of Energy to proceed with the government's plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.

Energy Undersecretary Dionato Marcos said that Tanglawan Philippines LNG - the joint venture of Uy's Phoenix Petroleum and CNOOC - is so far the sole applicant for the project.

"So CNOOC-Phoenix partnership, which is Tanglawan 'yun evaluation is almost kumpleto na sila," Marcos said in a recent interview with reporters.

"For the LNG, they are looking for a terminal in Batangas," the Energy official said.

In a disclosure filed by Phoenix Petroleum legal manager Rosalio II Roque, the Uy-led oil firm said that the company is still seeking the necessary approval from its board of directors.

"The notice to proceed (NTP) filed before the Department of Energy was filed by China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC)," Phoenix Petroleum said.

Sought for further information, Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III told GMA News Online on Friday that the selection of who will undertake the LNG project is a permitting process not a competitive selection process to address perceptions that the government is giving preference to any particular group.

To recall, the consortium of Uy's Udenna Holding, Chelsea Logistics, franchise holder Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co., and foreign partner China Telecommunications Corp. won the selection process to be the new major player in the country's telecommunications market.

The Davao businessman is also known to have made a P35-million contribution to the campaign kitty of President Rodrigo Duterte during the 2016 presidential election.

Pulido said the DOE is still evaluating the application of Tanglawan Philippines LNG.

Likewise, Marcos, said, "Nag e-evaluate na kami, we might announce it first week of December," noting the likely issuance of a notice to proceed to Tanglawan Philippines.

Marcos said the Tanglawan group is planning to build an LNG terminal with a capacity of 5 million metric tons per annum. The project will cost around $1 billion to $2 billion.

The Department of Energy is pushing for an LNG terminal facility to avoid shooting up consumer electricity rates due to the expected depletion of resources in the Malampaya natural gas facility. —LDF, GMA News