A UNIT of First Gen Corp. has selected three foreign firms to advance to the next round of the tender process for the charter of a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), the Lopez-led company said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
The charter of the vessel is part of FGEN LNG Corp.’s $300-million interim offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project in Batangas City. The preferred tenderers are BW Gas Ltd., Dynagas Ltd., and Höegh LNG Asia Pte Ltd. They will move on to the next stage of the binding tender process.
The offshore LNG terminal is expected to accelerate the entry of the imported fuel into the country by the third quarter of 2022. It will serve the natural gas needs of existing and future gas-fired power plants of affiliates and third parties.
Norway-based BW Gas and Höegh specialize in LNG transportation and floating regasification services, while Greece-headquartered Dynagas is an LNG maritime transportation company with a fleet of 15 LNG carriers.
An FSRU is an LNG carrier and contains an onboard regasification plant, which can turn LNG back into gas.
In October, First Gen said it had sent out binding tender invitations to three chosen contractors for the FSRU, namely: BW Gas, Höegh, and New York-listed GasLog’s unit GasLog LNG Services Ltd. Dynagas was added in the list last month.
Also in October, FGEN LNG chose McConnell Dowell Philippines, Inc., the local unit of an Australian contractor, for the LNG terminal’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract. The contract was signed last month.
First Gen and Japan’s Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. also signed a joint cooperation agreement to pursue the design, development, testing, commissioning, construction, ownership, and operations and maintenance of the interim offshore gas project.
The latest deal stated that Tokyo Gas would own a 20% interest in the project. As it makes its final investment decision, it would then enter into a definitive agreement with First Gen.
Shares in First Gen on Monday inched up 3.19% to close at P29.10 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang
