China and Japan are competing for a liquefied natural gas project worth $2-billion, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi told said in a report.
Around 20 companies for eight countries have submitted partnership proposals with the state-owned Philippine National Oil Corp. for an LNG receiving terminal in Southern Luzon.
“We are talking to China [and] Japan. We are looking at which can offer the best in terms of funding. It’s too early to say who is more advanced — there are so many things to look into,” Cusi told Nikkei Asian Review.
Companies like Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas and a few Chinese state-owned and private companies have shown interest, Cusi said.
The energy chief added that he doesn’t favor any particular power-generating technology as the Malampaya gas project, that provides the majority of the Luzon Grid’s power, is seen to exhaust by 2024.
Cusi said that he is planning to travel to South Korea and Russia to solicit energy investments for the Philippines.
The DOE is aiming for total household electrification by 2022, the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
“As a priority concern, we strongly aim for total household electrification by the end of President Duterte’s term (by 2022),” Cusi said during a Rotary Club event in Quezon City.
He said that the Luzon is 95.5 percent energized, while Visayas is 94 percent energized. However, Mindanao is only at a 74 percent energization level.
