DOE courting Chinese investors in energy projects
By Myrna M. Velasco – September 11, 2020, 10:00 PM
from Manila Bulletin
The Department of Energy (DOE) is knocking anew on the doors of Chinese investors for prospective capital that they can funnel into various energy projects that the country is offering.
On September 9, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi announced to the media that he virtually met with top executives of various firms from mainland China as well as from Hongkong “to discuss potential investment opportunities in the Philippine energy sector.”
The Chinese firms that the energy chief was able to discuss investment prospects with via zoom call included HBIS Group Co. Ltd.; BYD Auto Industry Co. Ltd.; C&U; and Panhua Group Co. Ltd.
According to the energy department, the series of one-on-one discussions with the Chinese investors had been part of the roundtable meetings on China’s International Fair for Investment and Trade that was organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) with the help of the Philippine Embassy in China.
In making his pitch for investments in energy projects, Cusi told the Chinese companies that “we need energy to build, breathe life into industries and keep the economy moving, especially at this time.”
He primarily apprised them that the country has been seeking for investors “to build our power capacity and attain energy security, thus, opening doors in the establishment of energy infrastructure, e-transportation and upstream and downstream oil ventures.”
With anticipated full economic recovery when the coronavirus pandemic ebbs, additional power supply shall be among the main concerns that the DOE has to focus on starting this year.
Given that the remaining tenure of the Duterte regime is already less than two years from now, the biggest challenge for the DOE leadership under this administration is to corner investments for committed power capacity — if it has to ensure that its legacy will not be a power crisis; and that is also keeping in mind that the usual gestation of power projects could be 4-5 years.
Because of the economic growth slowdown linked to the health crisis, energy planners and industry players are projecting that power supply tightening in the main power grid of Luzon may be stretched to 2024-2025 instead of the earlier anticipated timeframe of 2022-2023, hence, the DOE still has time to corner those much-needed investment dollars.
Two years ago, Cusi was courting Chinese investors to set up coal-fired power plants in Luzon and Visayas grids – and that had been for proposed capacity of 1,200MW. However, those investment targets have not materialized until this time.
In the upstream gas sector, the DOE is similarly anticipating the return of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) as a partner to state-run Philippine National Oil Corporation-Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) for a re-entry into a petroleum block in Northwest Palawan basin; but final approval for the project has yet to be secured from the Office of the President.
Aside from power plant projects of base load capacity and the ventures tendered through the government’s petroleum contracting, the DOE is also offering array of investment opportunities in the renewable energy (RE) sector; downstream oil industry; electric vehicles; energy efficiency ventures; and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
