First Gen Corporation, through its subsidiary FGEN LNG Corporation, has named Norwegian firm BW Gas Ltd. for the charter of a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) of its offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project in Batangas City.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, First Gen said it has signed a five-year time charter party with BW Gas subsidiary BW FSRU IV Pte. Ltd.
A time charter party is a contract between the lessor and lessee that will hire a named vessel for a specific period of time. In this case, BW Gas serves as the lessor, while FGEN LNG is the lessee. An FSRU, meanwhile, is a carrier capable of storing LNG, which also has an onboard regasification plant capable of returning LNG into a gaseous state, before supplying it directly into the gas network.
BW Gas beat fellow Norwegian LNG firm Hoegh LNG Asia Pte. Ltd. in the final round of bidding. It also beat Greece-based Dynagas Ltd. in the earlier round.
The First Gen-BW Gas partnership is expected to quickly introduce LNG to the country to serve the natural gas requirements to other gas-fired power plants of third parties and affiliates as early as the third quarter of 2022.
First Gen added that BW Paris will be the FSRU carrier supplying the LNG terminal. It has an LNG storage capacity of 162,400 cubic meters and a nominal and peak gas send out capacity of 500 and 700 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), respectively.
The nominal send out capacity in particular is 25% more than the production capability of the Malampaya gas field, which only produces a peak maximum gas volume of approximately 400 MMscfd and has been declining.
The offshore support vessel is also capable of providing ancillary services including the reloading of LNG into trucks and small scale LNG vessels which can easily transport the LNG to nearby industrial areas.
FGEN LNG said the project will “play a critical role in ensuring the energy security of the Luzon Grid and the Philippines,” especially when the Malampaya gas resource is expected to become less reliable in producing and providing sufficient fuel supply for the existing gas-fired power plants.
Photo from BW Gas/Splash247.com.
