First Gen to receive LNG before end-Sept as Malampaya supplies dwindle

MANILA  -The Lopez family’s First Gen Corp. is expected to receive its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo delivery by the end of September in a bid to bolster the country’s power supply.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Monday, First Gen said it awarded its first LNG contract on July 7 to global firm Shell Eastern Trading Pte. Ltd., which promised to deliver around 154,500 cubic meters of supply between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30 to the power generator’s terminal in Batangas province.

Supply purchased by First Gen would be used for the company’s existing natural gas plants, San Lorenzo, San Gabriel, Santa Rita and Avion, which have a combined capacity of 2,017 megawatts. These plants supply a fifth of the country’s power needs.

The four gas-fired facilities rely on the Malampaya gas field, located offshore northwest Palawan, which has seen its supply dwindle in the last few years.

“The First Gen LNG terminal will accelerate the ability to introduce LNG to the Philippines, to serve the natural gas requirements of existing and future gas-fired power plants of third parties and First Gen’s affiliates,” the company said.

First Gen announced in May it would set aside $90 million this year to fully operate its LNG terminal.

It also recently disclosed it would lease its terminal to ports tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.’s Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., one of the operators of the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project, to support the company’s gas aggregation strategy.

Gas aggregation combines the gas needs of multiple consumers to form a single purchasing entity.

-CSN

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