EWC’s LNG plant in Quezon operational by year-end

By Lenie Lectura – June 18, 2018
from Business Mirror

THE first unit of Energy World Corp.’s (EWC) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Pagbilao, Quezon, would be ready by the end of this year.

“Hopefully, if all goes well, we should be able to complete the first 200 megawatts [MW] by end of this year and subject to banks being satisfied with the right-of-way [ROW] conditions. Then we have to wait until the substation is ready before we can bring the 650 MW on stream which is what will allow the lower price,” said EWC Project Director Graham Elliott during a Senate Committee on Energy hearing held on Monday morning.

EWC said the gas price would be sold at an average of P2.75 per kilowatt hour (kWh) once the entire LNG facility is operational.

During the hearing, Senate Energy Committee Chairman Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian welcomed this development, saying “the P2.75 per kWh price is irresistible” and his committee will support EWC in requesting the Department of Energy (DOE) and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to assist the company in the permitting process.

EWC’s LNG project will consist of a power station and LNG terminal that will include two tanks, each with a  capacity of 128,000 cubic meters to 130,000 cu m of LNG. He said each LNG tank could supply up to 3,000 MW of power to gas-fired power plants.

“The entire project cost is about $608 million for the power station and $150 million to $170 million for LNG hub terminal,” Elliott said.

EWC said it expected LNG demand to significantly grow once LNG becomes available in the country. EWC earlier submitted unsolicited proposals to state-run Philippine National Oil Co. for partnership to develop an integrated LNG facility in the country.

Elliott said the company is open to interested investors who may want to partner with EWC for the LNG project and that the company is interested to grow its LNG business in the Philippines.

“We’re always open to offers or interests from other parties. But, at the current time, we haven’t had anyone come forth with an interesting proposition for us. We would obviously not like to sell out…We see the future in the Philippines where we can grow the business that will give us a long-term outlook that is very positive,” Elliott added.

EWC earlier signed an agreement securing land ownership and ROW access from its Pagbilao power plant to the Philippines’s National Grid connection point.

The land agreement follows the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) confirmation in October last year of the final location of their proposed Pagbilao substation facility. This enabled EWC to identify the exact termination point for the ROW access for its LNG-fueled Pagbilao power plant to the substation.

“With the October decision of the NGCP, we’ve been able to engage a land agent to acquire the ROW which we have now done. Obviously, we begin building the transmission line,” he said.

Under the connection agreement with NGCP, EWC will have a “cut-in” connection to the Naga-Tayabas line for Phase One of the power plant at 200-MW capacity. Once EWC pursues its 450-MW expansion, the implementation of the New Pagbilao station is needed. The substation will “bus-in” to the Naga-Tayabas 230 kV line.