RP, Argentina mull tieup on natural gas projects

The Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) is in talks with the Argentinean government for a possible joint undertaking on the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) in the country.

"We had talks with the Ambassador of Argentina. We asked him what kind of project we can have to develop LNG as part of ensuring the security of supply of such product in the future," PNOC president Thelmo Cunanan told The STAR.

Cunanan said the Philippines can learn from Argentina, being one of the leading producers of LNG in the world. "LNG is a rich resource in South America," he said.

"During our last talk, he said they intend to bring in some people from Argentina to share their experiences and knowledge on LNG," he said.

PNOC is taking the lead in the development of the LNG industry in the country.

Late last year, PNOC conducted talks with GN Power Ltd. Co. for the construction of an LNG terminal in Bataan.

Cunanan said the country still needs onshore and offshore development for the LNG industry.

"There are ongoing talks on constructing an LNG receiving terminal. PNOC has discussions with GN Power. There are projects we want to pursue on this regard. The country needs security of supply once the country starts importing LNG," he said.

He said preliminary talks with GN Power are focused on how to source LNG in the region. "We need to identify the source before we can construct an LNG terminal," he said.

Aside from GN Power, PNOC is also talking with some Japanese firms for the development of LNG facility.

"An LNG terminal is a must for the downstream natural gas sector. Bataan is an ideal site. We have ongoing talks with Japanese companies to conduct studies on LNG," Cunanan said.

Cunanan also pointed out that PNOC should be able to firm up the gas reserve data to justify the putting up of the LNG terminal.

Last year, four foreign firms also expressed interest to supply LNG to the Philippines. These are Qatar Gas, Malaysia’s Petronas, British Power and Unocal of the US.

According to Cunanan, they still have a joint steering committee with Pertamina, Indonesia’s largest state-run oil and gas firm, for the development of LNG in the country.

The PNOC-Exploration Corp. (EC), one of the subsidiaries of PNOC, signed last September a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BP Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (BP) and GN Power for the development of another critical leg of the country’s onshore natural gas transmission pipeline project, including an LNG terminal in Bataan.

The proposed LNG import terminal is located about 15 kilometers from the Napocor-owned Limay power plant. The pipeline from the terminal could be easily extended to serve customers in the Pampanga area, particularly the Subic-Clark development corridor, and Cavite.