First Gen still pursuing order of new LNG cargo

August 26, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group is still on track to procure its fifth cargo of liquified natural gas (LNG) this year, despite ongoing vessel repairs.

Francis Giles Puno, First Gen president and COO, said the LNG ship is currently being repaired in Subic, Zambales, and is expected to return to the Batangas terminal next month.

“What’s happening is that you cannot do repairs when there’s gas inside. So, we have to empty out the gas first. We’ve used all of it, and then we do the repair,” he explained.

Earlier, the company awarded a contract to Tokyo Gas unit TG Global Trading Co. for the supply of an LNG shipment of about 125,000 cubic meters to First Gen Singapore Pte. Ltd.

The LNG cargo was supposed to be unloaded last month into the storage tanks of the BW Batangas floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a specialized vessel used to import, store and regasify LNG.

According to Puno, First Gen is doing the “punch list,” or the remaining items to be addressed at the interim offshore terminal, with a goal of having the repaired vessel back by “mid-September.”

“When it’s ready, then that’s the time we can consider reordering. However, the repairs might be delayed. Also, when the shipment arrives, we need to time it properly,” the official said.

The energy firm completed its first LNG cargo delivery in Subic in August 2023 and made subsequent deliveries at its Batangas complex in December 2023 as well as in February and May 2024.

Through FGen LNG Corp., First Gen owns and operates the interim offshore terminal in Batangas City. It has entered into a five-year agreement for the charter of the BW Batangas, which provides FSRU services as part of the project.

Despite the issues with LNG supply, First Gen remains business as usual as it takes advantage of other alternative fuel sources.

“In the meantime, we can still run on residual Malampaya or liquid fuel. So we will (still) deliver (power supply), but liquid fuel will be more expensive,” Puno said.

The Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project, operated by Razon-led Prime Energy Resources Development and its partners, is the country’s first and only indigenous gas resource in offshore Palawan.

First Gen’s four natural gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of over 2,000 megawatts have been supplied with Malampaya gas for several years.

To safeguard electricity consumers from market shocks, Puno further said that the country should secure long-term LNG contracts to ensure stable prices for the transition fuel.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla earlier said that LNG serves as a “cleaner substitute for traditional fossil fuels, and is a more reliable source than renewable energy.”