Sufficient nat gas puts imports on hold

Manito, Albay — Due to an increase in locally produced natural gas, Lopez family-owned First Gen Corp. has rescheduled the delivery of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply from TG Global Trading Co. (Tokyo Gas), Japan’s largest gas provider.

In an interview, FGen president and COO Francis Giles Puno said the company’s initial plan was to receive a cargo delivery from Tokyo Gas this month.

However, recent improvements in local natural gas production prompted FGen to postpone the scheduled delivery.

“Right now, we’re rethinking because we still have a gas supply. We still have residual gas so we have to deplete that first,” Giles told reporters.

“The WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) is quite high and even this (the Palayan geothermal plant) is selling some to the WESM. But the gas, we are producing as much as we can,” he added.

Last month, FGen awarded a contract to Tokyo Gas to deliver one LNG cargo of approximately 125,000 cubic meters in July to FGEN’s wholly-owned subsidiary, First GenSingapore Pte. Ltd (FGEN Singapore).

The contract marked FGEN’s sixth tender and fifth delivery following contracts signed with Shell Eastern LNG, Trafigura, TotalEnergies Gas and Power Asia Private Ltd., and CNOOC Gas and Power Trading & Marketing Ltd.

The cargo that Tokyo Gas will deliver through an LNG carrier will be unloaded into the storage tanks of the BW Batangas floating storage and regasification unit currently berthed at the First Gen Clean Energy Complex (FGCEC) in Batangas.

The LNG supply will be utilized by FGEN’s existing gas-fired power plants in the FGCEC.

Cost recovery talk

According to Puno, FGen is also actively engaging in discussions with regulatory bodies, such as the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), to explore potential avenues for recovering the operational costs associated with their LNG plants.

“We are going through a clearance with the ERC and the DoE on our ability to recover the cost for the operations of the LNG,” he added.

FGEN LNG Corp. has constructed its Interim Offshore LNG Terminal Project to provide LNG storage and regasification services. The FGEN LNG Terminal will be instrumental in ensuring the country’s energy security.

FGEN has a portfolio of four existing gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,017 megawatts.