Korean firm details $1.7-B investment proposal
South Korean firm SK E&S Co. Ltd. has a proposed $1.7-billion package of investment for the Philippines that includes—aside from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal—a number of LNG-fired power plants and a 150-km pipeline.
During President Duterte’s visit to Seoul earlier this month, SK E&S signed with Philippine energy officials a letter of intent related to these projects.
SK E&S said in a statement that the development of the LNG infrastructure was expected to create “800,000 jobs per year” during the construction phase.
The company added that this was in response to the rapid rise in LNG demand in the country as well as to support measures meant to strengthen economic cooperation between Seoul and Manila, especially in the energy sector.
SK E&S noted that it opened in September 2017 an office in the Philippines in order to explore business opportunities here.
Based on the company’s proposal, it would build an LNG terminal with the capacity of up to five million tons a year, “several LNG power plants of more than 600 megawatts,” and a pipeline that stretches up to 150 kilometers connecting the terminal and other power plants in Luzon.
“SK E&S is a global energy company running a business across LNG value chain from upstream to downstream sectors,” the firm said.
“We hope to have an opportunity to contribute to the development of the Philippines’ energy industry based on our vast experiences and technological prowess in the LNG business,” it added.
SK E&S expects demand for LNG in the Philippine to grow considering that Malampaya gas reserves—the sole source of gas for several power plants that account for more than 3,000 MW of power-generating capacity—are expected to be depleted by 2024.
“Thus, the Philippine government has been reviewing measures to complete LNG infrastructure by the end of 2023 to import LNG in earnest,” the company said.
The Philippines is projected to have a thriving liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry within a few years and have a capacity of 7 million metric tons yearly by 2020, the earliest estimate when indigenous fuel from the Malampaya gas field would run out.
The forecast was from Poland-based research firm Energy and Natural Resource Reports, which was very bullish considering that building a big-ticket LNG facility would take more than three years to accomplish.
The domestic industry is seen reaching such a milestone “driven by investments in new LNG capacity,” the research firm said.
