Energy trader Vitol will deliver the first cargo of LNG to the Philippines in mid-April to commission AG&P’s LNG import terminal in Batangas Bay.
Vitol said in a statement on Monday that this cargo will be used to cool down the floating storage unit, Ish, and commission the country’s first LNG terminal near Manila.
“In turn, the LNG power generation from the 1,200 MW Ilijan power plant is expected to significantly augment the net dependable power generation capacity of the country in the face of rapidly increasing post pandemic demand,” the trader said.
Vitol Asia, a supply and trading unit of Vitol, will supply this first LNG cargo to San Miguel Global Power in the Philippines from its global LNG portfolio.
According to Vitol, the firm loaded this LNG cargo in Das Island, UAE, supplied under long term contract by its partner Adnoc, a few days ago on the 161,900-cbm LNG vessel, Golar Glacier, owned by CoolCo.
Vitol expects the LNG tanker to deliver the cargo to the Philippines around mid-April this year.
“We are pleased and excited to have worked closely with our partner San Miguel Global Power on this historic and first LNG cargo into the Philippines,” Mike Muller, president of Vitol Asia, said in the statement.
Muller added that this is a “significant milestone and we look forward to bringing more LNG supply from around the world to meet the rising gas demand of the Philippines.”
First LNG terminal
In October last year, AG&P said it expected to launch the first LNG import terminal in the Philippines by March 2023.
The facility will feature the converted FSU, which AG&P chartered from Adnoc for a period of up to 15 years.
Also, the FSU will be capable of loading LNG at a peak rate of 10,000 cbm/hr and a discharge-to-shore peak rate of 8,000 cbm/hr.
It is a central component of the combined offshore-onshore import terminal that will have an initial capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum.
In addition to the FSU, McDermott’s unit CB&I Storage Solutions has won contracts to build two storage tanks for the LNG import terminal in the Philippines.
Philippines LNG will store and dispatch regasified liquefied natural gas to power plant, industrial and commercial customers but also other consumers.
The Philippines has several LNG import facilities on the table as the Malampaya gas field becomes less reliable in producing and providing sufficient fuel supply for the country’s existing gas-fired power plants.
This includes First Gen’s Batangas FSRU-based LNG import terminal.
In June last year, the power producer agreed on a new delivery date for the chartered 162,000-cbm FSRU BW Paris due to a delay in the completion of the facility.
First Gen and BW LNG also agreed to rename the vessel ahead of the launch of the LNG import terminal in 2023.