State-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has received seven unsolicited bids for its proposed liquefied natural gas import project and six of these met the relevant criteria and are awaiting evaluation, writes Amanda Battersby.

The proposals that were accepted came from China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Lloyds Energy, First Gen Corporation, Jaya Samudra Karunia, Energy World Corporation and a consortium of PGN LNG, Bosowa Corporindo and MOF.

These LNG import project proponents are already in talks with partners or potential partners. Dubai-headquartered Lloyds is teaming up with Itochu of Japan while Tokyo Gas has been negotiating with First Gen, among others.

The seventh proposal was from the Korea Electric Power Company (Kepco) but it did not comply with the bid criteria. This initial application was rejected and Kepco did not submit an acceptable revised offer before the end of the year.

The six acceptable proposals will now be forwarded to PNOC’s consultant for evaluation of their technical and financial aspects for what could yet be the Philippines' maiden LNG import project.

Players including Shell and Total had earlier considered floating storage and regasification unit projects but to date these have failed to get off the drawing board.

Operator PNOC is understood to want the Asian Development Bank to act as its consultant for the proposals’ evaluation.

PNOC has already tapped the bank for technical input for its hoped-for phased LNG and power generation project, which could cost up to $2 billion.

The government hopes to award the contract this year and break ground for this LNG and power project, phase one of which will likely include an FSRU deployed off Batangas.

The aim is to have this facility in operation as early as 2020, four years before the expected decline from Shell’s producing giant Malampaya gas field, which fuels much of Luzon’s power generation.

The Philippines Department of Energy has ambitions plans to make the republic an LNG hub to rival that of Singapore. Batangas, on the most populous island of Luzon, is seen as a leading candidate, although Philippines Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that other locations, including Subic and the island of Mindanao, are still being considered.

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