The Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has asked domestic utility company, First Gen Corp to carry out further changes to its amended LNG terminal project.
Energy Secretary, Alfonso Cusi confirmed that First Gen had amended its Batangas LNG terminal project from an onshore facility to an FSRU in a recent virtual press conference.
In addition, First Gen has submitted the amendments to the Philippine Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB).
This change needed additional permits before the construction can be sanctioned by the agency, DOE-OIMB Director, Rino Abad, said at the conference.
“The change from onshore to offshore required additional permits. We have informed First Gen of this and we are just waiting for them to comply with the requirements. We’re talking about six additional permits,” Abad said during the conference, explaining that permits were needed from .DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), PPA (Philippine Ports Authority), PCG (Philippine Coast Guard).
First Gen has also changed the project’s timeline after the DOE urged the company to fast-track the project.
Originally, the company had said that the FSRU would be operational by the third quarter of 2022.
Abad said the agency has told the company to improve the timeline by advancing it to April of the same year.
“In fact, completion is January. But there’s a commissioning testing period, so the full commissioning of the FSRU is April, 2022,” Abad said.
First Gen’s LNG project, in partnership with Tokyo Gas, was originally an onshore facility targeted for completion in 2024. It was designed to have a capacity to process 5 mill tonnes per annum of LNG, which would require an investment of around $1 bill.
The project includes the modification of the existing liquid fuel jetty to enable it to become a multi-purpose use berth and to build an adjacent onshore gas receiving terminal to receive and deliver gas to end-users.
