THE Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has been urged to step up its efforts in disposing of its reserve of banked gas from Malampaya by 2024.
The banked gas held by the PNOC was equivalent to 108.6 petajoules (Pj) in 2009. Of this total, 4.61 Pj was sold to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) in 2013 and 6.33 Pj was awarded to Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (PSPC) in 2015.
Currently, the PNOC has 97.67 Pj, which it needs to monetize by the end of the Malampaya gas field contract in 2024.
“We can find a balance. We’re not telling you to sell it at a low price nor do we want you to wait for the perfect contract. Find a competitive price that will in the meantime benefit the government and allay the economic troubles that we have right now,” Rep. Mark Aeron H. Sambar (PBA Partylist) told PNOC in a hearing at the House Committee on Energy on Monday.
The committee was acting on House Resolution 1737, authored by Mr. Sambar, which calls on the PNOC and the Department of Energy (DoE) to disclose their plans for disposing of the banked gas.
The HR noted that the PNOC has only managed to sell a small portion of the banked gas since 2009 and that the PNOC and the DoE have not considered other alternatives except for a proposal to utilize the reserve for the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, which may be operational by 2020.
According to the PNOC, the reserve is “the volume of natural gas which was not utilized but required to be paid for under the Take-or-Pay Clause of the Ilijan Gas Sale Purchase Agreement.”
The PNOC said it has over the years tried to monetize the banked gas. “The PNOC Board has already approved a two-pronged strategy for the banked gas, namely, offer for public sale and bundled with the LNG project,” the PNOC said in comments submitted to the Committee. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
