The Department of Energy (DOE) said that they have yet to approve US firm Excelerate Energy’s application for its permit to construct, expand, rehabilitate, and modify (PECRM) for the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility located in Batangas Bay.
In a Manila Bulletin report, DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) director Atty. Rino Abad said that following the company’s PCERM application last year, it was not able to submit its audited financial statement until May 2022. In turn, the evaluation process stretched until June this year in time for the change of leadership in the country.
Abad said that Excelerate Energy’s PECRM remains pending and the DOE has yet to refer it to the new undersecretary-in-charge.
The proposed “Filipinas LNG Facility” of Excelerate Energy was targeted for completion in the second quarter of this year, but delays would be faced as the permit has yet to be granted.
The LNG facility is being positioned as a “security asset” which will provide third-party access to different end-users, even those that aren’t considered its anchor market.
Two other LNG projects in the country are also facing delays in their commercial operation; including the LNG project of Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Company (AG&P) and Linseed Field Power Corporation, and the LNG terminal of First Gen Corporation LNG Corp,