AG&P books floating storage for LNG import terminal

ATLANTIC, Gulf & Pacific International Holdings Pte. Ltd. (AG&P) on Wednesday announced the signing of a 15-year contract with an Abu Dhabi company to charter a 137,512-cubic meter storage vessel for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal project in Batangas Bay.

In a media release, AG&P said Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. Logistics and Services (ADNOC L&S) will provide a Japan-built, moss-type containment vessel as a floating storage unit (FSU) for the import terminal from its fleet of eight LNG ships.

“We are privileged to have ADNOC [L&S], a foremost global leader in LNG logistics, as our partner to transition the Philippines to cleaner fuel through AG&P’s Philippine LNG import terminal,” said Joseph Sigelman, the AG&P group’s chairman and CEO.

The chartered vessel will be part of the company’s offshore/onshore terminal with an initial storage capacity of five million tons per year, allowing it to provide LNG supply in extreme weather conditions.

The FSU will be commissioned along with the operations of the first phase of the LNG import terminal in July.

ADNOC L&S CEO Abdulkareem Al Masabi said that by providing AG&P a storage solution it is also extending the operational life of its asset, which can lead to growth opportunities for the logistics company.

“Our project with AG&P in the Philippines will contribute to the economic growth of the country by leveraging the potential of clean LNG for power generation,” he added.

Alexander P. Gamboa, managing director and global head of business development Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila, Inc., said in an interview with BusinessWorld on Friday that the company is “all hands on deck” in rushing the completion of the integrated LNG terminal in Batangas.

He said the project would help provide energy security in the country.

“This essentially replaces Malampaya. The terminal will not only supply Korean Electric Power Corp.’s 1,200-megawatt (MW) power plant in Ilijan, Batangas, but will also supply LNG to the 1,300-MW power plant of the SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., which will be built beside the terminal,” he said. — Marielle C. Lucenio