Page 10 - GLNG Week 50

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Energas plans 2021 start for Pakistan LNG terminal
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
There are already two LNG import terminals operating at Port Qasim.
PAKISTAN’S Energas is planning to start up an LNG import terminal in 2021 that would be the country’s largest, pending approval to begin construction. This comes in anticipation of gas demand soaring in Pakistan.
Energas’ CEO, Anser Ahmed Khan, told Bloomberg last week that the company was aim- ing to begin construction on the $140-160mn facility next year. Energas is a consortium of large domestic gas users. The project is also being sup- ported by super-major ExxonMobil.
The facility had initially been proposed to Pakistan’s previous government in 2017, with Energas and ExxonMobil aiming to complete construction this year. However, the project still has several hurdles to clear, including obtaining regulatory approval, before a final investment decision (FID) can be reached. Much of the project’s capacity has not yet been contracted out either. However, it has received bids for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that will be connected to a ter- minal at Port Qasim, Karachi. Khan said that
contract would be awarded by March. Pakistan already has two LNG import ter- minals in operation, also at Port Qasim, and other developments are also in the pipeline as the country’s gas demand grows. Last week BloombergNEF projected that Pakistan’s LNG purchases would quadruple by 2040 amid stag- nating domestic production and strong demand. “There is a lot of demand in Pakistan and it will just grow,” Khan said. “The market is price-sensitive, so we need to play that card
right.”
A Mitsubishi unit, Tabeer Energy, has also
applied to build an LNG terminal in the country. In September, media reported that Paki- stan had selected consortia that included Exx- onMobil and Royal Dutch Shell to build five LNG terminals in the country. Few additional details were available, though the consortia were required to submit plan details to the Min- istry of Maritime Affairs by November 5. This was required despite the plans having already
received Cabinet approval.™
Developers request to put Philippine LNG on hold
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
CHINA’S CNOOC Gas and Power and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines have asked for plans to build the $2bn Tanglawan LNG hub project in the Philippines to be put on hold. The two firms jointly requested that the Philippine Department of Energy (DoE) put the project on hold after Phoenix’s parent company, Udenna, acquired a 45% stake in the Malampaya gas-to-power pro- ject from Chevron.
Phoenix now wants to “reassess and submit a new concept” to the DoE, Philippine Secretary of Energy Alfonso Cusi told the BusinessWorld newspaper. “They are not pursuing it. They want to revisit their LNG terminal programme in lieu of the Malampaya development. So I think they are going to tie it together,” Cusi added.
DoE Undersecretary Donato Marcos told local media that the agency was still evaluating whether to grant Phoenix’s request to put the Tanglawan development on hold.
The Tanglawan LNG facility had been designed to have a capacity of 2.2mn tonnes per
year (tpy), and start-up had been targeted by 2023. Phoenix had also planned to build a 2,000- MW power plant to support the project.
The Malampaya scheme provides fuel for power plants with a combined capacity of more than 3,000 MW – or around a third of the Philippines’ power needs. It is operated by Royal Dutch Shell, which holds a 45% stake in the venture. State-owned Philippines National Oil Co. (PNOC) owns the remaining 10% in Malampaya.
Shell’s contract with the Philippine govern- ment for Malampaya is set to expire in 2024, though the super-major has requested an exten- sion, based on confidence that gas can be pro- duced beyond that year.
The request to put Tanglawan LNG on hold comes after the DoE extended the project’s notice to proceed by six months in July. The extension had been sought by the project’s developers on permitting concerns, but was due to expire this month or next.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 50 19•December•2019