First Gen pursues $1-B Batangas LNG terminal

MANILA, Philippines - First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group is looking for a partner for its planned $1-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Batangas after completing the study on the project.

First Gen president and COO Giles Puno said the company has completed the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the LNG facility necessary in finding potential partners and contractors.

“What we did is to ensure that everybody was understanding that it’s a project we will push through. Capex is a little high. What we’re talking about is about a billion dollars so it’s hard for us to fund alone,” he said.

Puno added the company is in talks with a number of local and foreign companies.

“We’d like to have a partner before yearend,” he said.

First Gen will be offering up to 50 percent stake to partners.

After securing a partner, First Gen will start site preparation early next year and then bid out the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, Puno said.

So far, potential contractors are now down to five, the company official noted.

“Site preparation takes quite some time. We’ll start site preparation acitivity next year so when contractors look at the site, its is ready,” Puno said.

The planned facility is aimed to augment the LNG supply with the depletion of Malampaya gas by 2024.

Malampaya supplies power to First Gen’s 1,000-megawatt (MW) Santa Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo natural gas plants.