First Gen goal: Complete LNG terminal in April 2022

By Lenie Lectura – August 10, 2020
from Business Mirror

First Gen Corp. LNG Corp. (FGEN LNG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lopez-led First Gen Corp., will complete its offshore LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal in January 2022, with target commercial operation in April of the same year.

“Supposed to be, the target commissioning is in August 2022. We were able to adjust this to April 2022. In fact, completion is in January. There’s a commissioning period, testing period that is why the full commissioning is in April 2022,” said Department of Energy (DOE) Director for Energy Resources Development Rino Abad during a virtual press conference.

First Gen is expected to submit to the agency the remaining requirements necessary for the issuance of a DOE permit.

The company filed last March a permit to construct, expand rehabilitate and modify its application from onshore LNG terminal to offshore via an interim floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which represents the initial phase of the FGEN Batangas LNG Terminal project.

An FSRU is an LNG storage ship that has an onboard regasification plant capable of returning LNG back into a gaseous state and then supplying it directly into the gas network.

“The change from onshore to offshore required additional permits. We have informed First Gen of this and we are just waiting for them to comply with the requirements. We’re talking about 6 additional permits,” Abad said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi clarified that the amended application of First Gen has affected the timeline of the project, including the processing of the permit.

“They changed the plan from onshore to FSRU, the concept from onshore terminal to FSRU. So, they submitted their amendments,” said Cusi. “So, they studied if they need a new application or are we going to allow the new design. The timeline has changed also. So, these are being discussed. But we are ready to address it.”

Abad said there were discussions with First Gen on how to maximize the construction period so that commercial operation of the LNG project could proceed at the soonest time possible.

First Gen said it expects the DOE permit to be issued soon so construction can proceed within the year.

The project consists of construction works necessary to modify the existing liquid fuel jetty that will enable it to become multiple-use, and build an adjunct onshore gas receiving facility to receive and deliver gas to end-users.

Once completed, the project will utilize an FSRU that will be docked at the Multi-Purpose Jetty to store and re-gasify LNG for use when required.