LOPEZ-LED First Gen Corp. is expecting to start building its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project in Batangas in the second half of the year.
“We are hoping to start construction in the second half of this year,” said First Gen President Francis Giles B. Puno during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Wednesday.
In March, the company’s subsidiary FGEN LNG Corp. submitted to the Department of Energy (DoE) its application for a permit to construct, expand, rehabilitate, and modify (PCERM) for its gas terminal project.
The construction kickoff is dependent on the approval of the said permit, Mr. Puno said.
First Gen is developing an interim offshore LNG terminal within its Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City.
The project will modify its existing liquid fuel jetty to become multi-use and build an adjunct gas-receiving facility.
Once completed, the terminal will utilize a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a carrier that is capable of storing LNG and returning it back to its gaseous state.
On July 16, First Gen told the stock exchange that it chose three foreign firms to likely participate in its bid invitation for the lease of the project’s FSRU. The bidding will commence in September.
The potential bidders are BW Gas Ltd. of global gas shipping company BW Group; New York-listed GasLog’s unit GasLog LNG Services Ltd.; and Hoegh LNG Asia Pte Ltd., owned by the Norwegian LNG carrier provider Hoegh LNG Holdings.
Since January, the company spent $60 million out of the allotted $300-million budget for the project.
“The remainder of the amount will be disbursed over the next two to three years. This is likewise contingent on receiving the permit to construct from the [DoE],” Mr. Puno said.
The government’s Energy Investment Coordinating Council declared the LNG terminal project as an Energy Project of National Significance under Executive Order No. 30.
Meanwhile, First Gen has earmarked $18 million for its gas plants in 2021. This includes a $2.5-million budget for the life extension of its Santa Rita and San Lorenzo plants and another $2.5 million for the 97-MW Avion generator.
On Wednesday, shares in First Gen grew by 5.91% to close at P26 each. — Adam J. Ang
