DOE: 2 LNG projects to go online next year

The Department of Energy (DOE) said Thursday that two liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects are expected to go online next year, which are seen to aid in stabilizing the power supply in the country.
 
“There is a need to diversify our power sources, including the use of imported natural gas. Given its scheduled availability at the end of the first quarter of 2023, liquefied natural gas is considered an important source for fuel diversification,” said Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla.
 
Citing the progress reports provided by the LNG project proponents to the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, the department said the joint venture between Linseed Field Power Corp. and AG&P is on track to complete its first integrated LNG import terminal in Barangay Ilijan, Batangas City.
 
The commissioning is scheduled for March next year and the commercial operation for April, in time for the arrival of SMC’s LNG supply for the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan combined-cycle power plant. 
 
FGEN LNG Corp., a subsidiary of First Gen Corp., with BW LNG providing LNG storage and regasification services, is also scheduled to commission its LNG terminal in March 2023, while the commercial operation is set for June 2023.
 
The opening of the said facility is in line with the arrival of LNG supply to fuel its existing gas-fired power plants, such as the 1000-MW Sta Rita Power Plant, the 500-MW San Lorenzo Power Plant, the 414-MW San Gabriel Power Plant, and the 97-MW Avion Power Plant. 
 
Natural gas, according to the DOE, will be able to support intermittent renewable sources because of its ability to provide flexible capacity, which would allow LNG plants to serve not only peaking requirements to support renewables and ancillary power, but also mid-merit and base load requirements.
 
It said LNG development aligns with the transition to a low-carbon future, helps stabilize the power supply from variable renewable energy, and will also complement the ongoing efforts of the Malampaya Consortium to optimize sustainably the remaining indigenous gas in the Malampaya-Camago reservoir. 
 
“Our foremost concern is to ensure that there is enough capacity supplied through various sources, most especially in the coming summer months, to sustain the power supply in the country,” said Lotilla. — VBL, GMA Integrated News