Indonesia oil giant mulls $1-billion LNG project in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Indonesia’s second biggest crude oil producer, PT Pertamina, is looking to invest $1 billion for the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Philippines through a regasification hub project, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said yesterday.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said PT Pertamina has expressed interest to do business in the Philippines by being involved in LNG development.

Lopez met with PT Pertamina officials last Tuesday.

“The Philippines is very much open for LNG investors. We will assist and work with them in looking for trusted partners until they begin their operations,” he said.

PT Pertamina corporate marketing director Basuki Trikora Putra said the firm is ready to offer integrated LNG solutions by investing in FSRU (floating storage and regasification unit) or land-based LNG regasification and provide competitive LNG supply.

“Having a long experience as one of the world leading LNG global players, we would like to share the same experience in the Philippines. We are really keen to invest in the Philippines,” Putra said.

After the DTI, PT Pertamina is also set to hold a meeting with officials of the Board of Investments, Department of Energy and Energy Regulatory Commission to learn about the country’s plans and policies on energy and investment.

Lopez said the government remains committed to attracting more investments to the country.

In particular, the government wants to accelerate investments in the areas of energy, manufacturing, transport, technology and infrastructure to develop more robust industry and service sectors.

PT Pertamina is a state-owned national energy company of Indonesia.

The firm has six refineries with a combined production capacity of one million barrels of oil per day.