Korean firm signifies interest to build LNG terminal

By Lenie Lectura – July 24, 2018
from Business Mirror

ANOTHER foreign firm has expressed interest to develop the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) integrated terminal.

Energy Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido identified on Tuesday the foreign firm from South Korea. “Posco Daewoo Corp. came here to signify interest to build the LNG terminal under the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Regulation [PDNGR].”

“Based on our initial talks with them, they did tell us they want to participate in the PDNGR. They haven’t submitted a formal letter of interest yet, but I can say they have very keen interest,” Pulido said.

Posco Daewoo Corp. is a Korean company mainly engaged in trading, resources development and manufacturing businesses. It operates in three business divisions: international trading of steel products, metals machineries, chemical products, automobile components, electronics, textiles, fibers and others; development of energy, minerals and food resources in domestic and overseas; and the operation of textile factories and department stores.

So far, there are 13 local and foreign firms that submitted letters of interest to the Department of Energy.

These are Atlantic Gulf & Pacific of Manila, JERA Co. Inc., Limay LNG Power Corp., Kepco E&C, China National Offshore Oil Corp., Carmine Energy Pte. Ltd., SK E&S Co. Ltd., Transformation Ltd., Tokyo Gas Corp., Cleanway Energy Development Corp., First Gen Corp., Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) and Vires Energy Corp.

Pulido said the DOE has not set a deadline of acceptance of formal letters of interest from interested firms.

“It’s not a bidding process. The interested firms that have submitted letters of interest are mostly still asking what the rules and requirements are,” he added.

The DOE is bent on completing the planned LNG project before the expected depletion of the Malampaya offshore gas find near Palawan island in 2024.

The Malampaya project currently supplies fuel to five natural gas plants with a total installed capacity of 3,211 megawatts. This amounts to 21.33 percent of the installed capacity of the Luzon grid and almost 15 percent of the country’s total installed capacity.

LNG is natural gas converted into a liquid state for easier storage and transportation. Upon reaching its destination, LNG is regasified so it can be distributed through pipelines as natural gas.