PAGBILAO, Quezon—A 289-meter long tanker acting as a floating storage for the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in the country has arrived, but failed to dock at the dedicated jetty of the LNG Hub Terminal in Barangay Ibabang Polo here due to problems of clearances and other documentation.
Last Saturday the LNG ship Ocean Quest was seen at the seawater 100 meters near the jetty of the LNG facility. Several local media practitioners were invited to witness for its planned docking at the LNG plant jetty.
Also on hand to witness the supposed historic docking of the LNG ship were former-Quezon Gov. and newly appointed Assistant Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government Eduardo Rodriguez; provincial government administrator Rommel Edaño; Unisan Vice Mayor Junjun Suarez Jr. and his wife Rowena; Barangay Chairman Arnel Amandy and personnel of the LNG power-plant facility.
“This is a very exciting milestone for Energy World. LNG carrier Ocean Quest is a key part of our vision to bring clean and economic LNG throughout Asia,” Energy World Corp. (EWC) CEO and Managing Director Stewart Elliot said. The ship, with a gross weight of 88,919 tons and a capacity to carry up to 128,000 cubic meters of LNG, is on standby to supply the power station.
Elliot said the LNG ship, being a foreign vessel, would need clearances and some documents from the Bureau of Customs to be able to dock at the jetty of the LNG plant facility and would not be able to dock on that day.
EWC, proponent of the LNG power-plant project, said the LNG tanker is currently sailing under the flag of Norway and is owned by Hongkong LNG, a subdidiary of Energy World International Ltd. The tanker will be dedicated to EWC’s LNG Hub Terminal in the Philippines, where it will be based permanently. It has sufficient capacity to act as a floating storage and has onboard regasification and processing equipment required to provide regassified LNG directly to the power station.
In line with the Department of Energy’s vision for a clean-energy future in the country, EWC is constructing the first LNG-fired combined cycle gas turbine power station, with a capacity of 650 megawatts, here that can provide clean electricity and sold through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market to the Luzon grid.
EWC has bewailed the long delay for the start of the full operation of the LNG power plant facility due to its inability to tap into the existing transmission line. It said they are in the process of establishing an alternative 120 kilometer 230-kilovolt transmission line from the plant site to connect directly to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, which operates the Naga-Tayabas main transmission line.
Rodriguez, country manager of EWC, said the funding requirement with local banks and transmission arrangement with various government agencies has been the main cause of delay in the formal operation of the plant facilities.
The EWC’s timetable for commissioning for the first gas turbine with a capacity of 200 MW is 6 months after the drawdown of funds under its loan facility with the 3 lending banks: Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines and Asian Bank.
Rodriguez said EWC’s original plan for its transmission-line arrangement involved the construction of 400-meters transmission line to cut-in to an existing 230KV Pagbilao transmission line owned by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). He said NGCP has advised Team Energy Corp. which operates the nearby 730-MW coal-fired power plant, is unwilling to allow EWC to connect into the 230-KV line as it may interfere or disrupt the coal-fired power plant’s ability to export power from their plant.
Rodriguez, who was also responsible for the construction of the 2 coal-fired power plants in Pagbilao and Mauban towns way back in the 1980’s and ‘90s during his administration as provincial governor, said the bank lenders have requested that EWC obtain further confirmation from PSALM on the right of way and EWC’s ability to utilize this right of way and from NGCP, clarifying details regarding its connection agreement.
He asked assistance from Energy Sec. Cusi to expedite the transmission arrangements to enable the EWC to drawdown funds for the commissioning of the project.
The EWC hopes national government agencies in charge of the power needs of the country would come around and see the reality of a better option provided by an LNG-fired power plant.
Natural gas is touted to be much cleaner, safer and environment-friendly as a fuel source for the country than coal in terms of standard emissions in the environment.
Using natural gas instead of coal in generating electric power, the EWC has already constructed a 65 meters concrete storage tank with a capacity of 130,000 cubic meters; a jetty and marine facilities for berthing, unloading and reloading LNG ships; a regasification facility to convert LNG back to natural gas and a 650 MW combined cycle power station all located in Barangay Ibabang Polo here.
Handouts provided by EWC said LNG is simply a natural gas that is chilled to -163 degrees centigrade and becomes a liquid that is 1/600th of its volume as gas. It said when exposed to air, LNG slowly vaporizes back into natural gas, leaving behind no residue on land or water.
LNG can be used to replace diesel in vehicles and in small power plants and can be safely transported by road, rail or small ships.
EWC said once operational the high efficiency gas-fired power plant will enable the production of electricity for the local market that will compete directly with coal fired plants while significantly reducing carbon emissions and improving the environment.
The LNG supply ship at sea off Pagbilao Grande in Barangay Ibabang Polo, Pagbilao, Quezon.
EWC Price at posting:
32.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
