LNG hub to rise in Quezon

Hong Kong-based Energy World Corp. Ltd. is set to complete within the first quarter next year a liquefied natural gas (LNG) hub in Quezon.

Eduardo T. Rodriguez, country manager for the local unit of Energy World, told the Inquirer that the company plans to start selling the LNG to the transport sector, industrial customers and household users, once the hub is ready.

The hub, which is estimated to cost some $150 million (roughly P6.15 billion), consists of a 130,000-cubic meter LNG storage tank, regasification facility and jetty.

A second 130,000-cubic-meter LNG storage tank is also being considered.

The natural gas, meanwhile, is expected to be sourced from the gas fields in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

According to Rodriguez, the company also hopes to start the civil works for its proposed 300-megawatt combined cycle gas turbine power plant, which will use gas from the terminals in Quezon.

The power plant, which is estimated to cost as much as $300 million, is expected to start operations by 2016, Rodriguez added.

The electricity to be generated from the power facility may likely be sold directly to the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM), he said.