PNOC tapping Asian partners for $ 1.4-B downstream gas facilities
Monday, January 01, 2007
State-run Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has revived discussions with neighboring Asian countries on potential partnership for its planned .38 billion worth of projects to establish various downstream gas facilities.
PNOC OIC president and CEO Pedro A. Aquino Jr. said he introduced to other leaders and executives of Asian national oil companies (NOCs) the plan of the Philippines to put up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility and the corresponding gas pipelines to support targeted market expansion.
"PNOC is inviting NOCs to join PNOC in the construction of the LNG receiving terminal in Bataan as well as in the natural gas pipeline projects," he said.
PNOC documents show that the proposed establishment of LNG facility would require a mammoth investment of US$ 1.263 billion.
The LNG terminals’ capacity is proposed at 180 million standard cubic feet per day; and the revised commissioning date target is year 2012.
Meanwhile, the planned pipeline stretching 100 kilometers from Batangas to Manila commands an investment of US$ 121.13
The downstream gas facilities, according to PNOC, will serve the requirements of the Limay power facility; of which fuel use is proposed converted into natural gas.
The other pipeline facility lumped as a component of the integrated LNG terminal project is the 140 kilometer submarine transmission line from Bataan to Manila.
PNOC-Exploration Corporation already made initial progress on the proposed pipeline facilities; but due to delays in the privatization of the generation assets of the National Power Corporation which consequently deferred the conversion of some plants into natural gas, the company also opted to push back on its schedule.
Aside from Limay, the other power facilities eyed for conversion are the Sucat and Malaya thermal plants.
The expanded gas market will also eventually cover transport, industrial, commercial and residential end-users.
President Arroyo has mandated PNOC to take the lead in forming a consortium of investors to pursue various projects in the downstream gas industry.
The Department of Energy (DoE) forecasts that the demand for natural gas will pick up in the coming years; primarily for power plant projects and the need of the transport sector.
By next year, upon the much-anticipated commissioning of the motherdaughter compressed natural gas (CNG) facility by Shell Philippines, at least 200 buses fueled by natural gas are expected to ply the Manila-Batangas
posted by philpower @ 8:58 AM,
