FGen in talks with 9 global firms for LNG supply
Published Sep 4, 2019 12:00 am
By Myrna M. Velasco
Lopez-owned First Gen Corporation (FGen) is in talks with at least nine global companies as prospective liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers for its proposed $1.0-billion LNG import facility.
These foreign firms include Qatar Gas, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Total S.A., Petronas, Chenerie, Chevron, Naturgy Energy Group, BP and JERA – which are all big-ticket and well-established players in international gas markets.
First Gen, with its partner Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., had firmed up a two-track development landscape for its LNG terminal – the first will be setting up a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) by 2021; and the more permanent one will be the onshore import facility that will reach commercial stream in 2024.
As their joint venture firm FGEN LNG Corporation had already awarded the LNG import’s facility engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to JGC Corporation of Japan, the project is now set to take off from the drawing board.
“First thing we want to do is the feasibility study which we started already with JGC. It depends on how that goes, then we can start construction within this year,” First Gen Executive Vice President Jonathan Russell said.
He further noted “it’s safe to assume that it (FSRU facility) will come after our feasibility study. We have to make sure that the technical solution is robust, then we can start construction because we already have the jetty, we don’t need to construct a jetty. For the new one, we will just have to modify it.”
The First Gen executive said the LNG supply contracting will be done two-pronged: One will be for the FRSU facility; and the other will be for its onshore terminal for the longer term need of its gas-fed power plants.
“There are two different time horizons – the first horizon is long-term which is 2024 onwards. And separately, we need to look for a gas supplier in the interim 2021 to 2023,” he emphasized.
Russell indicated that “it might be different suppliers because the needs are different, so we’re in the process of having that discussion right now. We’re now looking at who is the most competitive supplier.”
The gas supply for the FSRU, he said, will probably be in the range of 170,000 cubic meters – and this could be the bridge gas supply for the company’s power plants given the anticipated decline of Malampaya production starting year 2021 or 2022 and onwards.
He qualified “the FSRU will come from FSRU supplier… we would be the charterer. We will charter it for a period of time, and after that, they would be responsible for putting it somewhere else.”
First Gen is not just putting up its LNG import facility, but it is also advancing two new power projects that will potentially add up 1,200 megawatts capacity in the country’s future power supply.
These foreign firms include Qatar Gas, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Total S.A., Petronas, Chenerie, Chevron, Naturgy Energy Group, BP and JERA – which are all big-ticket and well-established players in international gas markets.
First Gen, with its partner Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., had firmed up a two-track development landscape for its LNG terminal – the first will be setting up a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) by 2021; and the more permanent one will be the onshore import facility that will reach commercial stream in 2024.
As their joint venture firm FGEN LNG Corporation had already awarded the LNG import’s facility engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to JGC Corporation of Japan, the project is now set to take off from the drawing board.
“First thing we want to do is the feasibility study which we started already with JGC. It depends on how that goes, then we can start construction within this year,” First Gen Executive Vice President Jonathan Russell said.
He further noted “it’s safe to assume that it (FSRU facility) will come after our feasibility study. We have to make sure that the technical solution is robust, then we can start construction because we already have the jetty, we don’t need to construct a jetty. For the new one, we will just have to modify it.”
The First Gen executive said the LNG supply contracting will be done two-pronged: One will be for the FRSU facility; and the other will be for its onshore terminal for the longer term need of its gas-fed power plants.
“There are two different time horizons – the first horizon is long-term which is 2024 onwards. And separately, we need to look for a gas supplier in the interim 2021 to 2023,” he emphasized.
Russell indicated that “it might be different suppliers because the needs are different, so we’re in the process of having that discussion right now. We’re now looking at who is the most competitive supplier.”
The gas supply for the FSRU, he said, will probably be in the range of 170,000 cubic meters – and this could be the bridge gas supply for the company’s power plants given the anticipated decline of Malampaya production starting year 2021 or 2022 and onwards.
He qualified “the FSRU will come from FSRU supplier… we would be the charterer. We will charter it for a period of time, and after that, they would be responsible for putting it somewhere else.”
First Gen is not just putting up its LNG import facility, but it is also advancing two new power projects that will potentially add up 1,200 megawatts capacity in the country’s future power supply.