FirstGen subsidiary FGEN LNG Corporation has tapped the services of Australia-based McConnell Dowell as the Lopez-owned company’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for its interim liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal project.
MCConnell Dowell will particularly work on the terminal’s existing jetty and the installation of an onshore gas receiving facility.
FirstGen Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Russell said the company chose McConnell Dowell as its EPC contractor because of its extensive record in building LNG facilities in Australia and Southeast Asia, including recently-completed ones in Indonesia.
Russell added that the contract with McConnell Dowell will be signed in the coming days.
FirstGen hopes that the US$300 million facility would enable it to introduce LNG to the Philippine market as soon as the terminal is completed as expected in 2022. Construction is set to begin this fourth quarter of 2020.
The LNG facility is seen as a strategic investment of the Lopez group to continue supplying the country with natural gas given the expected depletion of Malampaya’s natural gas resources in the next few years. LNG is also seen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels.
