Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy plans to team up with China’s state-owned oil producer CNOOC Gas and Power Group Co. Ltd. for a proposed $2-billion liquefied natural gas project in Batangas province.
Uy’s Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. was authorized to sign a confidentiality agreement with CNOOC, one of the companies that submitted an unsolicited proposal with state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. for the development the LNG project.
Phoenix Petroleum assigned merger and acquisitions and investor relations head Darly Eunika Malole “to negotiate the terms and proposed project, as well as to sign, execute, deliver, receive and receipt for and in behalf of the corporation any and all contracts, documents and instruments required to carry out the foregoing resolution pertaining to the said confidentiality agreement”.
Other companies also expressed interest in partnering with the government for the LNG project, including Korea Electric Power Co., Lloyds Energy Group, First Gen Corp., Energy World Corp., PT. Jaya Samudra Karunia and PT PGN LNG Indonesia/PT Bosowa Corporindo with local partner MOF Corp.
Energy Secretary and PNOC chairman Alfonso Cusi last year signed Department Circular No. 2017-11-0012 which establishes the regulations “with respect to siting, design, construction, expansion, rehabilitation, modification, operation and maintenance of the natural gas industry.”
This is in line with the government’s thrust to make the Philippines a hub of LNG in Southeast Asia.
Cusi said he was hoping to witness the groundbreaking of the country’s first LNG facility this year.
PNOC intends to complete the integrated LNG terminal by 2020 or 2021 in time for the anticipated depletion of the Malampaya gas project in northwest Palawan by 2024 although the Malampaya consortium said natural gas from the Malampaya field could last until 2027.
Phoenix Petroleum has been on an expansion mode in the past couple of years after it acquired Philippine FamilyMart, one of the leading convenience store brands in the country and the liquefied petroleum gas business of Petronas Energy Philippines Inc. for P6.3 billion.
It also sealed a joint venture agreement with Tipco Asphalt Public Company Ltd. of Thailand and Carlito Castrillo of PhilAsphalt (Dev’t) Corp. to expand its product portfolio to include bitumen and bitumen-related products.