LNG regas facility set for Aug. commissioning — DoE

TWO out of the six entities that plan to build a terminal for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) are “aggressive” in developing their facilities aimed at supporting the country’s transition to cleaner fuel while ensuring energy security.

“Linseed [Field Power Corp.] moved its schedule a bit, but this has to be confirmed in the monthly meeting this month,” Rino E. Abad, director of the Energy department’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, said partly in Filipino during a briefing on Friday.

“From July 1, they may end up having commissioned the regas terminal instead on Aug. 1,” he added, referring to the regasification facility that will transform imported LNG back to its gaseous state.

Mr. Abad said his team is scheduled to hold a physical site inspection on Monday, May 16, to get an assurance that the company’s reported delay is factual. He added that at most, the delay would be for a month.

He said two of the Department of Energy’s bureaus are also addressing the replacement power that the Ilijan gas-fired power plant might need in case the LNG supply fails to arrive on time.

The Linseed facility is meant to serve the existing 1,200 megawatt (MW) Ilijan power plant and future gas-fired power plant projects of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.

SMC Global Power is the company behind a planned 1,313.1-MW combined cycle power plant in barangays Ilijan and Dela Paz, Batangas province that will use regasified LNG as fuel.

Mr. Abad said schedules are being aligned to ensure that the completion of Linseed’s regasification terminal matches the arrival of LNG.

He said a meeting is also scheduled with SMC Global Power’s South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC).

He said SPPC will be the LNG importer and trader, while Linseed will be the operator of the regas terminal that will be rented by SMC Global Power.

Kahit may regas terminal ka kung wala namang LNG, delayed pa rin (Even if you have a regas terminal, if there’s no LNG, there will still be a delay),” Mr. Abad said.

First Gen Corp., the other company with an LNG project at an advanced stage of development, remains on track, he said, adding that the scheduled commissioning is “around end of October [and] beginning of November.”

Walang pagbabago at mukhang ide-deliver nila ang project (There’s no change in schedule and it looks like they will deliver the project),” he said.

Mr. Abad said First Gen representatives had visited the DoE the other week to introduce its chosen LNG supplier.

May pagka-assurance na tayo sa First Gen kasi even the LNG supply is already available (We have some assurance from First Gen because even its LNG supply is already available),” he said.

Mr. Abad said the “pending” LNG projects are those of Shell Energy Philippines, Inc., Vires Energy Corp., Excelerate Energy L.P, and Energy World Corp. — Victor V. Saulon