LNG ADVANCES AMID R.E. PUSH

The Department of Energy is heartened by developments in shoring up the country’s supply of gas, but some advocates want a stronger push for renewable energy.

By Lenie Lectura

Linseed Field Power Corp., a local unit of global infrastructure firm Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Co., launched commercial operations of its LNG import terminal, and received the country’s first LNG cargo delivery in April. It now supplies LNG to the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan natural gas power plant in Batangas.

The LNG power generation from the Ilijan plant is expected to significantly augment the net dependable capacity of the country in the face of a rapidly increasing demand post pandemic.

AG&P’s PHLNG is a landmark development that will serve to kick-start the Philippines’s LNG importation and regasification ability, delivering gas to secure the country’s current and future energy demand,” said AG&P Chairman Joseph Sigelman.

The other LNG facility is that of FGEN LNG Corp., which is set to receive its first LNG cargo in the next few weeks. It aims to start commercial operations of its interim offshore LNG terminal project in Batangas in October.

“ We are now in the dry commissioning phase that will continue up until around September when the FSRU [floating storage regasification unit)] will be commissioned, and in September we will be doing the wet commissioning phase, which involves the receipt, storage and regasification of LNG.

“ We will then use that in our power plants to commission the power plants and LNG for the first time. So, it’s a natural progression,”

First Gen Chief Commercial Officer John Russel said.

DOE Director for Oil Industry Management Bureau Rino Abad said under the 2020-2040 Philippine Energy Plan, the projected additional gas-fired power plant capacity that would be needed is around 20,000 megawatts (MW), and this equates to an estimated 26 metric ton per annum (MTPA) of regasification capacity for busi- ness-as-usual scenario and around 15,000 MW with an estimated regasification capacity of around 19 MTPA for clean-energy scenario.

The regasification capacity expected to commercially operate this year from the Linseed (3 MTPA) and First Gen (5.26 MTPA) totals only to around 8.26 MTPA, enough to support the 1,200-MW Ilijan power plant and 2,000 MW of First Gen’s existing four power plants,” he said in an interview.

A s of end of 2022, however, Abad said there are 3,500 MW of additional committed gas-fired power plants proposed to commercially operate from 2024 to 2027 with an estimated equivalent of an additional 4 MTPA of regasification capacity.

There are also an additional 7,700 MW, with an estimated equivalent of an additional 9 MTPA, of regasification capacity of indicative gas-fired power plants proposed to commercially operate from 2026 to 2030.

“Hence, there indeed is a need for additional investment on our regasification capacity,” Abad said.

Hopefully, other aspiring LNG players will fast-track their plans to join the LNG bandwagon to fill the gap that the agency’s power bureau expects.

More LNG players

BASED on DOE’s list, a total of seven LNG terminal projects in the country have been approved. Aside from AG&P and FGEN LNG, the other five approved LNG projects are from Energy World Gas Operations Philippines Inc., Excelerate Energy L.P., Vires Energy Corp., Shell Energy Philippines Inc., and Samat LNG Corp.

S amat recently sought the DOE’s green light to proceed with the construction of its proposed $67-million small-scale LNG receiving terminal and regasifica tion facility in Mariveles, Bataan.

It is targeted for commercial operation in the first half of 2024 to cater to the needs of small-scale independent power producers, manufacturing companies and transport fleets.

Small-scale LNG terminals are suitable for archipelagic countries like the Philippines since they can supply fuel to on-grid and off-grid areas. Such facilities are modular and can be constructed quickly. Energy World Gas proponent, Energy World Corp. (EWC), is about to complete the final phase of the construction of its LNG terminal and power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon. The lack of a transmission facility connecting its power project to the grid was cited as the main reason for the years of delay.

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