First Gen in talks with suppliers for LNG terminal project

First Gen Corp. is now in discussion with several liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers for its LNG terminal project in Batangas City.

“We are in the process of discussion right now on who will be the most competitive supplier,” First Gen executive vice president and chief commercial officer Jonathan Russel told reporters on the sidelines of the PowerTrends 2019 in Pasay City on Wednesday.

Russel said the company is looking for different suppliers for the long-term and short-term requirements of its LNG terminal project.

“The long-term is from 2024 onwards, and then separately we need to look at the gas supply for the interim so that’s 2021 to 2023,” he said.

In May, First Gen and its Japanese partner Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. broke ground for the LNG terminal project in Batangas City.

The DOE is pushing for an LNG terminal facility to avoid a spike in consumer electricity rates once the Malampaya natural gas reserves are depleted.

The Malampaya gas-to-power facility fuels three gas-fired power plants with a total generating capacity of 2,700 megawatts (MW)—providing up to 30% of the power generation needs of Luzon.

Connected to onshore gas plants in Batangas, the Malampaya offshore facility in Northern Palawan was inaugurated in 2001.

Estimates showed its gas reserves are sufficient until 2022 to 2024.

Shell Philippines Exploration BV (SPEx) on Tuesday said it has submitted a request to extend Service Contract (SC) 38 and allow the Malampaya gas field to operate beyond 2024.

A unit of the Royal Dutch Shell PLC, SPEx leads the Malampaya consortium which counts Chevron Malampaya LLC, and the Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corp. as members. —VDS, GMA News