Page 11 - AsianOil Week 05 2023

AsianOil POLICY AsianOil

Philippines clears development

of seventh LNG import project

PHILIPPINES AUTHORITIES in the Philippines announced 2027.
on January 27 that they have greenlit the devel- Samat LNG expects to bring its terminal into
The Philippines are opment of a $67mn small-scale LNG import commercial use in the first half of 2025. It will
looking to LNG to terminal to provide a source of fuel for power be capable of bringing ashore 200,000-400,000
replace dwindling generation. It is the seventh such facility to be tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG, for use at small-
domestic gas supply approved. scale power plants in the area, as well as manu-
and phase out coal. In a statement, the Philippines' Department facturing plants and in the transportation sector.
of Energy (DOE) said it had issued a notice to Three such terminals that have been approved
proceed to Samat LNG Corp., which intends to by the government are due to come online this
build the terminal in the Mariveles municipal- year. Among the developers are Singapore-based
ity in Bataan Province, some 60 km north of the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific, and the Philippines’
country’s capital Manila. First Gen Corp. A terminal being developed by
The Philippines is looking to expand LNG- Australia’s Energy World Corp is nearing com-
to-power capacity to 3 GW over the coming pletion. Linseed Field Corp. is aiming to com-
years, to offset production decline at the Malam- plete its first integrated LNG import terminal
paya gas field in the South China Sea. The field is in March, with commercial operation slated to
due to reach depletion by 2027. begin in April.
At the same time, the country is looking to Philippine authorities have rejected that the
ramp up domestic exploration for gas, to meet government’s embrace of LNG will deter the
growing power demand and phase out coal. development of renewables, arguing that gas-
The Philippines has turned its attention to the fired power generation can serve as a baseload
LNG market as the Malampaya gas field in the source of electricity to support the deployment
South China Sea is anticipated to be depleted by of renewables that is cleaner than coal. ™

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