PNOC-EC starts P400M CNG investment plan

PNOC Exploration Corp., the upstream oil and coal arm of state-run Philippine National Oil Co., has started a P400-million capital investment program that calls for the construction of compressed natural gas (CNG) facilities in Luzon.

The program is aimed at promoting the massive use of CNG in the country.

According to Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras, PNOC-EC is now retrofitting the existing and lone daughter or refilling CNG station in Mamplasan, Laguna, which was previously owned by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. This particular project was estimated to cost P77.67 million, PNOC-EC said.

“The investment in the daughter station has started. The technology evaluation is ongoing and we are hoping that will be finished soon,” Almendras said.

PNOC-EC is bidding out on July 3 the contract for the supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of the CNG equipment package for the daughter station in Laguna.

Following the takeover of this facility from Shell, PNOC-EC needed to identify the latest and most suitable technology it could use to retrofit the daughter station. This project will help ensure the success of the government’s Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transport (NGVPPT).

To recall, the failure of the NGVPPT during the previous administration could be partly blamed on the defective system of both the mother and daughter CNG stations.

The P400-million plan also covers the construction of an additional CNG refilling station in Batangas and another set of mother and daughter CNG stations.

“I’m waiting for the plans of PNOC-EC for the new daughter and mother station in Batangas. They’re finalizing the plans and, eventually, they will have to bid out the construction contract,” Almendras said.

In April, PNOC-EC formalized its takeover of the two existing CNG facilities from Shell through the signing of three agreements, one with CNG bus operators while the two others covered the transfer of the facilities and the supply of gas from the Malampaya field off Palawan.

These agreements also allowed the extension of the NGVPPT Pilot Phase up to 2018. The program was crafted in 2003 and was designed to be undertaken within a seven-year period. However, setbacks in technology, supply and regulatory framework resulted in the program’s failure.