Phoenix investing P250M in LNG project

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has earmarked an initial P250 million for investment in a joint venture on liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities with China National Offshore Oil Corp., including the establishment of a subsidiary to manage such projects.

Phoenix said in a regulatory filing its board had approved the plan to work with Chinese state-owned CNOOC to establish and operate various LNG-related trade and services.

For this endeavor, Phoenix will form a subsidiary that will manage the firm’s LNG interests, including a receiving terminal for the fuel and the operation of gas-fired power plant.

In their proposal to the Department of Energy seeking approval for their LNG project, Phoenix and CNOOC said they planned to build a 1,100-megawatt power plant that would provide the anchor demand for the LNG terminal in Batangas.

The DOE approved the proposal, resulting in the issuance last December of a notice to proceed with the project.

Phoenix chief operating officer Henry Albert Fadullon earlier said Tanglawan planned to break ground by 2019 for the regasification and receiving terminal with a capacity of 2.2 metric tons per year, with commercial operations targeted to start by 2023.

Fadullon said the LNG facility will help support the demand for a clean and reliable energy source in Luzon and contribute to the sustainable development of the Philippine economy.

The COO said the long-term plan was for an integrated project that includes the development of a gas-fired power generation complex that has six units at 360 MW each or a total of 2,160 MW.

In January, Australian company Energy World Corp. (EWC) said the DOE granted an extension of its permit to build a similar project in Quezon province, which is now nearing completion.

EWC’s project is composed of two onshore tanks with the capacity of 130,000 cubic meters of LNG each. The facility also has an accompanying power plant complex.