A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell revived plans to join the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, a Department of Energy (DOE) official said on Tuesday.
Energy ASec. Leonido Pulido III said during the joint hearing of the Senate energy and finance committees that Shell Energy Philippines filed a notice to proceed (NTP) with a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU).
Shell decided back in 2013 to proceed with its front-end engineering and design for an LNG import facility in Batangas. Five years later, though, it decided to pursue more oil and gas exploration ventures to add another facility similar to the Malampaya gas platform rather than putting up an LNG terminal.
Other than Shell Energy Philippines, Asec. Pulido said that the DOE is reviewing the NTP applications of Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila Inc. (AG&P) and Vires Energy Corporation. Both AG&P and Vires also plan to bring in FSRUs.
An FSRU is an LNG carrier capable of storing LNG and which has an onboard regasification plant capable of returning LNG into a gaseous state and then supplying it directly into the gas network.
AG&P plans to put up its $315 million (Php15.1 billion) LNG import facility in Batangas City and will particularly supply the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan natural gas power plant. SMC Global Power Corporation, the plant’s administrator, said last year that it was in advanced talks with AG&P to provide LNG receiving, storage and regasification services to the plant and its expansion unit.
The Malampaya gas field currently supplies natural gas to the Ilijan power plant. Its reserves are said to run out between 2024 and 2027.
Meanwhile, A. Brown Company, Inc., which bought 99.995% of the outstanding capital of VEC, plans to build an integrated floating LNG storage and regasification terminal along with a 506MW floating natural gas-fired power plant in Barangay Simlong, also in Batangas City. VEC will build the needed infrastructure for LNG importation as early as 2022.