FIRST GEN Corp. said on Wednesday that Norway’s BW Gas Ltd. had committed to provide a liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel to the Lopez-led firm’s unit ahead of a similar deal with another local company.
It said BW Gas, which owns a subsidiary that will deliver the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), made the commitment as early as November last year.
First Gen’s clarification in a disclosure to the stock exchange came a few days after the Department of Energy (DoE) approved Vires Energy Corp.’s application to proceed with its planned gas-fired power plant, which is integrated with an LNG storage and regasification facility, in Batangas.
The FSRU is said to have a storage capacity of around 162,400 cubic meters, based on a DoE media release issued on Sunday.
The DoE referred to “BW Paris” as the vessel, which First Gen claims has already been contracted to its unit FGEN LNG Corp. since November.
First Gen said BW Gas even issued a commitment undertaking to FGEN LNG on Nov. 3, 2020 “pursuant to which it agreed to ensure and procure” that the owner of the BW Paris (BW FSRU IV Pte. Ltd.) was not contracted, either conditionally or unconditionally, to any other entity.
It said the commitment was made to ensure that BW Paris would be available to be chartered by FGEN LNG to meet the requirements and timeframe of its project “up to and including” April 7.
First Gen said that before the commitment undertaking, BW Gas received preliminary inquiries on BW Paris from various firms, including Vires Energy. It said “the nature of such inquiries never went beyond the exploratory.”
BW Paris can provide ancillary services, plus storage and regasification, First Gen previously said, adding that the vessel can reload LNG into trucks and small-scale LNG vessels, which will distribute the gas to nearby areas.
Earlier this month, FGEN LNG and BW FSRU IV entered into a five-year agreement for the charter of BW Paris as an FSRU for the former’s interim offshore LNG project.
A Brown Co., Inc., which owns Vires Energy, said in a previous disclosure that at the time of its initial application with the DoE for a notice to proceed, it was “still in talks with BW Paris.”
“The negotiations with BW, however, did not progress to a successful closure. [Vires Energy], therefore, is still currently considering options and/or arrangements of other potential vessels,” A Brown said in a disclosure on Tuesday.
Vires Energy said that its integrated LNG project is targeted to begin its commercial run by January 2023.
On Wednesday, First Gen shares at the local bourse were unchanged at P31.05 apiece, while those of A Brown fell by 3.06% or three centavos to close at P0.95 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang
