Meralco expected to join Phoenix, CNOOC in Tanglawan gas project

Manila Electric Company (Meralco) could be a potential partner in the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Batangas, Fitch Solutions Macro Research revealed Thursday.

In an emailed commentary, Fitch Solutions said the power distribution firm is expected to be a third partner in the Tanglawan Philippines LNG Inc., a partnership between Dennis Uy’s Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. and China’s CNOOC Gas and Power Group Co. Ltd.

“A third partner being mulled for the project is the Philippines’ largest power distribution firm Manila Electric Company, whose owner Manuel Pangilinan had previously been given preferential rights to join Uy in future LNG ventures,” according to Fitch Solutions.

Tanglawan is expected to bag a contract from the Department of Energy (DOE) to proceed with the LNG-to-power project in Batangas.

GMA News Online has contacted officials of Meralco to comment on the matter, but no response has been received as of this posting.

The Tanglawan project involves the construction of a regasification terminal and a gas-fired power plant with generation capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 megawatts (MW). Fitch Solutions has pegged the project cost at $1 billion to $2 billion.

Last month, Pangilinan who chairs the power distributor, told reporters that the parties concerned will have to talk to Meralco.

“It’s mainly the gas terminal, maybe gas plants. So we don’t know what will happen because kung gas plants, then they will have to talk to Meralco,” he said.

PXP Energy Corp., where Pangilinan also serves as chairman, is open to taking a stake in Tanglawan once the details of the project feasibility study are available.

“We don’t know the numbers, whether it’s feasible or not ... but we just have an option to pick up 50 percent of what Dennis will own in that venture,” he said. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News