Philippine firm Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Company (AG&P) partnered with South Korean firm GAS Entec to aid the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.

AG&P said they “will provide a suite of onshore and floating products for the distribution and use of LNG, such as LNG storage, regasification, LNG fuel bunkering, LNG-fueled power solutions, next-generation mooring structures and cold storage applications.”

AG&P chairman Jose Leviste said the declining costs of LNG and new technology helped even small players afford LNG.

“This equity partnership between AG&P and GAS Entec will contribute strongly to pushing the boundaries of this new, revolutionary industry,” he said.

“No longer is LNG-fueled power the exclusive domain of the largest utilities. It is also available to a generation of innovative developers, power companies, ship owners, fishing fleets and others in a way that LNG has not been before. We are seeing the democratization of LNG,” Leviste said.

AG&P president Albert Altura said they “see the archipelagos of the Philippines and Indonesia as prime candidates for a wholesale switch from coal as a fuel to power LNG.”

GAS Entec CEO Kwak Chong-Ho said both companies will provide for the full design, engineering, construction and assembly. This also include the integration of sub-components like handling the cargo and control systems for the LNG vessels.

“Operating as an integrated, one-stop-shop, we will bridge the critical gap in LNG distribution and its applications globally. We remain an engineering company that can work with any customer, but the partnership with AG&P allows certainty, speed and commercially reasonable terms for our customers,” he said.

GAS Entec has ventures on fuel bunkering and engineering and logistics solutions to the LNG sector. AG&P, on the other hand, is an emerging player in the LNG industry, with a footing in the construction business.