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  • Renewables

Renewable energy: the future of power for Vietnam

7 April 2019

 – 

  • Vietnam

Vietnam could meet its long-term energy demands by adding renewable energy sources and cutting-edge battery storage technologies to its arsenal of solutions, experts said at a two-day international conference on renewable energy that ended on April 4 in HCM City.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Nguyen Tam Tien, CEO of Trung Nam Group, said that renewable energy generation has already significantly increased. “Renewable energy, especially solar and wind power, will be the future of Vietnam’s long-term energy strategy,” he said.

Mai Van Trung, business development director at SolarBK, said the country has favourable conditions to develop solar energy and that commercial and industrial solar PV rooftop applications have great development potential.

Rooftop solar panels have also become more affordable for homeowners and communities, he said.

Samresh Kumar, managing director of Principal Investment at VinaCapital, said solar rooftop power presents an effective solution which provides a commercially viable option, especially for the commercial and industrial segments.

Solar power leverages existing infrastructure and monetises idle assets without requiring additional land, and it is also efficient because power is produced only where it is needed and thus frees up the grid, he noted.

John Rockhold, head of the Power and Energy Sub-working Group under the Vietnam Business Forum, said rooftop solar panels must be encouraged to reduce pressure on the national grid, while modest annual price increases and a road map for efficiency energy are badly needed.

Huge investment

Vietnam has a great opportunity to reach its energy security goals by attracting local and foreign investment, according to Rockhold.

New technologies are creating opportunity for the renewable energy sector, he said, adding that such technologies could help lower the cost of equipment for solar and wind energy.

Vietnam will require around 10 billion USD annually between now and 2030 to meet the growing demand of the energy sector, experts said.

With such high capital requirements, the government has allowed 100 percent foreign ownership of Vietnamese companies in the energy sector.

Foreign investors can choose among permitted investment forms such as 100 percent foreign-invested company, joint ventures or public-private partnership (PPP).

FDI and domestic investment from the private sector could include investment in batteries and other storage methods, which would help stabilise supply and extend the availability of solar and wind power sources.

By storing renewable energy and keeping supply high, prices for solar and wind power could be lowered.

With low feed-in-tariffs (FiT) and high production costs, PPPs are the most effective means of entering the market to minimise risks. The PPP term is usually 20 years from the commercial operation date.

Government efforts

With 66 percent of rural inhabitants, Vietnam is scaling up its efforts to bring electricity to the entire population, whether on or off-grid, increasing electrification rates and preparing the country for growth.

Vietnam is one of the most efficient power markets in Southeast Asia, driven by low-cost resources such as hydro and coal. The country has achieved around 99 percent electrification with relatively low cost in comparison to neighbouring countries.

With electricity demand projected to increase by eight per cent annually until 2025, Vietnam aims to develop renewable energy sources to ensure energy security and address growing power demand.

Hydropower currently holds the largest share among all renewable energy sources, followed by biomass and wind. Solar energy, biogas, and waste-to-energy technologies are picking up slowly while geothermal energy and tidal energy are at a very early stage.

Renewables could become Vietnam’s lowest-cost option to meet its energy needs.

In recent years the Government has developed initiatives to boost renewable energy, especially solar and wind power. Tax incentives include preferential corporate income tax rate of 10 percent for 15 years, corporate income tax exemption for four years, and a reduction of 50 percent for the following nine years.

Other incentives include preferential credit loans, land use tax exemption, and land rental exemption.

To ensure consistent returns for investors, the government has also approved electricity prices for on-grid renewable energy, including standardised power purchase contracts (20 years) for each renewable power type.

EVN, the sole buyer of electricity in Vietnam, has also been mandated to prioritise renewable energy in grid connection, dispatch, and purchasing electricity at approved tariffs.

From now until 2030, Vietnam’s economy is forecast to grow at a high rate of between 6.5 and 7.5 percent per year.

The conference was held during the two-day Solar Show Vietnam 2019, Power & Electricity Show Vietnam, Energy Storage Show Vietnam, and Wind Show Vietnam, which attracted hundreds of policymakers, regulators, investors and financiers from Vietnam, Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

The trade shows were also attended by power producers, project developers, renewable energy vendors, and business owners and land developers.-VNS/VNA

  • Bioenergy

$500-M waste-to-energy plant proposed in Bataan

6 April 2019

 – 

  • Philippines

BALANGA CITY, Bataan — The provincial government announced Friday that a British banker has presented a proposal to build a 100-megawatt (MGW) power plant using solid wastes with funding of USD500 million.

Vice Governor Crisanta Garcia said documentation was already ongoing for the proponent’s desire to set up the plant at the Freeport Area of Bataan in Mariveles town.

“It will be the first such technology converting solid wastes to energy in Bataan,” she said.

Banker David Wood, also the chief executive officer (CEO) of cocopower and who will fund the project, said it will be under the public-private partnership (PPP) but with almost no cost for the provincial government.

Mar Supnad, a journalist who introduced the investors to provincial officials, said the provincial government will only provide 15 hectares of land as counterpart.

He said that funding is ready and once documentation is finished, the proponents wanted the construction to start this May.

Wood said the project, under the state of the art Australian technology, will be the first in Bataan and in the Philippines, which will process wastes to energy.

“It is green energy to replace coal. The technology will solve environmental problems,” the foreign banker said.

He said that for the first phase of the project of 50-MGW, the operation needs 1,500 tons of garbage a day.

If the garbage supply will not be enough, the company will ask farmers to plant Napier grass as fuel for the plant that will provide additional income for the residents, Supnad said.

“It will have a positive effect on the environment for it will produce clean power,” Wood said.

He said there will be no more landfill and there will be close to zero harmful emission and a smokeless fuel.

Edgardo Rivera, CEO of Disruptive Corp. and who will provide the technology and the machinery, said they will strictly comply with the country’s Solid Waste Management Act.

They also thanked Governor Albert Garcia and the vice-governor for the accommodation. (PNA)

  • Electricity/Power Grid

Ministry mulls direct power sale

6 April 2019

 – 

  • Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is considering allowing companies that use a lot of power to buy electricity directly from power plants.

Speaking at a press meeting in Hanoi on April 5, Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV), said they have been working with international consultancy firms to study the mechanism.

“The pilot implementation aims to establish the competitive retail electricity market in 2021,” Tuan said.

The ministry launched the competitive power generation market in 2012 and the competitive wholesale power market at the beginning of this year.
Since then, 10 percent of the country’s total power capacity has been sold to power generation firms directly.

From the beginning of this year, in addition to Vietnam Electricity (EVN), five other power corporations have been able to buy electricity from power plants. The ministry plans to gradually increase the number of such corporations in the competitive wholesale power market.

The MoIT said after three months of running a competitive wholesale power market, the difficulties are mainly related to taxes and infrastructure as the number of transactions in the market has sharply increased.

The ministry has to resolve issues of operation at power plants to ensure safe and stable operation.

Tuan said they will continue to instruct agencies to complete infrastructure and hold training courses on the power market.

“The ministry is expected to review the operation of the competitive wholesale electricity market this month to collect difficulties to have timely solutions to resolve the issues,” he added.

Renewable power plants have not participated in the competitive market as only those with capacity of more than 30MW can join the market.

The operation of the competitive wholesale electricity market from the beginning of the year has brought good opportunities to power buyers and sellers as well as customers.

The ministry has studied building a mechanism to encourage renewable energy plants participate in the market to increase nationwide power supply.-VNA

  • Others

Monetary Authority of Singapore launches Sustainability Bond Grant Scheme

5 April 2019

 – 

  • Singapore

On 26 February 2019 the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the expansion of its Green Bond Grant Scheme to include social and sustainability bonds, and renamed the framework the Sustainability Bond Grant Scheme.

Overview

In response to feedback from market participants on the Green Bond Grant Scheme introduced in March 2017 (the Original Scheme) and in furtherance of Singapore’s drive to be the epicentre of Asia’s green, social and sustainability bond markets, the MAS has expanded the scope of the Original Scheme to include social and sustainability bonds that meet prescribed qualifying requirements (the New Scheme), and relaxed the eligibility criteria concerning minimum tenor and issue size.

As reported in our 2018 Spring edition of Debt Capital Markets Global Insights, the purpose of the Original Scheme was to assist certain categories of issuers (qualifying issuers) with the costs incurred in obtaining an external review – or rating of qualifying bonds based on internationally recognised standards and frameworks (eligible expenses). The New Scheme covers the same types of eligible expenses in respect of qualifying social and sustainability bonds.

Qualifying issuers

The categories of qualifying issuers under the New Scheme remain the same: All companies and financial institutions, whether onshore or offshore, qualify for the grant. Sovereign issuers are excluded.

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for the grant under the New Scheme, the qualifying issuer’s green, social or sustainability bonds must be:

  1. listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX);
  2. a “Qualifying Debt Security” for Singapore tax purposes[1];
  3. substantially arranged by a Financial Sector Incentive[2] (FSI) company or companies in Singapore where more than half of the gross revenue from arranging the issue is attributable to the FSI company/companies; and
  4. verified by an external reviewer as holding such green, social or sustainable status based on internationally-recognised standards and frameworks such as[3]:
  • ICMA / ASEAN Geen Bond Principles
  • ICMA / ASEAN Social Bond Principles
  • ICMA / ASEAN Sustainability Bond Guidelines and Standards
  • Climate Bonds Standards

Enhanced eligibility criteria: Minimum tenor and principal amount

Eligibility criteria concerning minimum tenor and minimum principal amount remain applicable under the New Scheme, but have been significantly relaxed to enable qualifying issuers, including green bond issuers, to gain access to the grant more easily.

i. Tenor: The requirement for the bonds to have a minimum non-redeemable tenor of three years has been reduced to just a year under the New Scheme.
ii. Principal Amount: The requirement for the bonds to have a minimum principal amount of S$200 million[4] has been retained, but the New Scheme also permits an issue size starting from S$20 million[4] to qualify for the grant provided it is a drawdown under a debt issuance programme of at least S$200 million[4].
These enhanced eligibility criteria on minimum tenor and principal amount should allow issuers with green, social or sustainability projects that have variable funding needs spread over a period of time to qualify for the grant. Under the Original Scheme, each issuance was required to have minimum non-redeemable tenor of at least three years and a minimum principal amount of S$200 million, which effectively excluded issuers seeking to pursue projects that are designed to be rolled out in smaller phases. Now, large sophisticated issuers as well as smaller sized issuers that do not have the financial strength or a project of sufficient scale to issue a S$200 million bond in the first instance can access the grant by establishing a debt issuance programme which should provide the additional benefit of flexibility, enabling the qualifying issuer to access the capital markets as its funding needs dictate and/or to take advantage of attractive pricing windows.
Maximum amount of grant under the New Scheme
The grant under the New Scheme is subject to the same cap of the lower of 100 per cent  of actual eligible expenses and S$100,000.
Where the qualifying issuer has a debt issuance programme size of at least S$200million and an initial issuance of at least S$20million in principal amount, subsequent eligible expenses attributable to issuance(s) under the same debt issuance programme will also be eligible provided:
i. the subsequent issuance(s) takes place within the validity period of the New Scheme; and

ii. the total amount claimed by the qualifying issuer, including for the initial principal amount issued, does not exceed the cap.

Qualifying issuers should note that it remains a requirement under the New Scheme that more than half of the eligible expenses be attributable to Singapore-based external review service providers. Diligent enquiries about staffing and work allocation matters should, therefore, be made with service providers at the outside and throughout the life of the transaction, if necessary, to ensure that the Singapore nexus can clearly be demonstrated to the MAS.

Validity period of the New Scheme

The New Scheme is valid from 1 January 2019 to 31 May 2023.

Application process

Similar to the Original Scheme for green bonds, an application for a grant under the New Scheme may only be made after the qualifying bonds have been issued. Qualifying issuers should note the following pre and post-issuance requirements, and seek advice from their external advisers prior to any proposed green, social or sustainability bond issuance to ensure that the proposed issuance will satisfy the eligibility criteria under the New Scheme.

i. Pre-issuance: A qualifying issuer must appoint a lead arranging bank to carry out appropriate due diligence to verify that the proposed issuance will meet the criteria set out under the New Scheme. The appointed lead arranging bank must be a FSI company in Singapore.
ii. Post-issuance: No later than three months after the issuance date, the appointed lead arranging bank is required to submit a completed application form to the MAS on behalf of the qualifying issuer, together with the requisite invoices for the reimbursement of eligible expenses.
Summary
The relaxation of the eligibility criteria under the New Scheme demonstrates the MAS’ understanding of issuers’ funding needs and constraints in the green, social and sustainability bond market, and is expected to encourage more issuances over the next few years. Potential issuers who consider transaction costs associated with external reviews as limiting the attractiveness of such issuances should assess their eligibility for the grant under the New Scheme together with the benefits and flexibilities of issuing bonds under a debt issuance programme. As the grant is available to both onshore and offshore issuers and SGX is typically recognised as an acceptable listing venue by international debt investors, the New Scheme looks set to boost Singapore’s competitiveness in the market for this growing asset class.
[1]       Section 13(16), Income Tax Act, Chapter 134 of Singapore; Section 4, Income Tax (Qualifying Debt Securities) Regulations
[2]       Section 13(16), Income Tax Act, Chapter 134 of Singapore
[3]       National standards or guidelines remain excluded under the New Scheme.
[4]       Or its equivalent in other currencies

[View source.]

  • Others

IP regime, connectivity to keep Singapore industries competitive in low-carbon future: Chan Chun Sing

5 April 2019

 – 

  • Singapore

SINGAPORE – Singapore will work with its industries as it moves to meet standards of a low-carbon future, while remaining competitive with its strong connectivity and intellectual property (IP) regime, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing on Friday (April 5).

Describing the need to constrain emissions as “a new mountain to climb”, Mr Chan noted the importance of working with companies, such as energy giant ExxonMobil, that invest in technology for building more sustainable products.

“Today, the world is much more competitive for the next investor dollar. Our job is to make sure that we continue to provide that progressive environment, not just in… the kind of relationship that we have (with companies), but also in the kind of rules that we can have,” he added.

Speaking at the official opening of ExxonMobil’s butyl rubber and resin plants on Jurong Island, Mr Chan said such rules include a strong IP regime as well as regulations allowing companies to have data-enabled technologies.

ExxonMobil’s new plants are part of a multi-billion-dollar expansion project, and its products go some way in reducing emissions.

The plants also add 140 jobs – such as engineers and technicians – to its workforce of over 4,000 in Singapore. Another 100 logistic jobs were also created at its packaging and warehouse facility on-site, run by a Singapore-based company.

The energy giant’s regional growth plans include increasing the number of such facilities, said Ms Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. She added that there is growing demand for synthetic rubber and adhesives here.

Ms McKee also said that about half of the world’s economic growth between now and 2040 will occur in this region.

Global demand for the chemical industry has doubled since 2000 and this is expected to grow about 4 per cent annually for the next 20 to 30 years, faster than overall energy demand growth.

“Singapore is a critical component of that story, not only as an energy and manufacturing hub, but also as a centre for technology and for skills development,” she added.

As a result of dynamics in the region, ExxonMobil has embarked on an “aggressive growth plan” to double its earnings by 2025, she added, pointing to the two new plants as key moves.

One of the plants produces up to 90,000 tonnes of Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins a year, aimed at meeting long-term demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging and diapers. It started operations in December 2017.

The second plant, which is expected to start commercial production in the second half of the year, produces up to 140,000 tonnes of premium halobutyl rubber a year – a substance used by tyre manufacturers to maintain inflation.

Keeping tyres properly inflated can help to save about a billion gallons of fuel, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by eight million tonnes a year, said ExxonMobil.

The official opening on Friday follows a series of expansion announcements by the company, which said on Tuesday that it will take on another multi-billion-dollar project to grow its facilities on Jurong Island.

This will raise its output of cleaner fuel amid more stringent environmental rules for the shipping industry from 2020 – a shift that shipping and oil refining industries have been scrambling to prepare for.

In an opening speech, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific chairman and managing director Gan Seow Kee said the company invests about $1 billion a year in research and development worldwide.

He noted that the plants use new technologies. For example, their warehouse uses a robotic arm that can pack a 34kg butyl bale every seven seconds, and driverless forklifts that automate product movements in the warehouse.

  • Others

CDL snags $500m in green loans for new property developments

5 April 2019

 – 

  • Singapore

SINGAPORE – City Developments Limited (CDL) has bagged $500 million in two green loans, marking the first time such financing will be used in Singapore for new property developments, the mainboard-listed developer said on Friday (April 5).

A three-year green loan of $400 million will be provided by DBS Bank, which is also the adviser for the loan.

Meanwhile, a two-year green loan of $100 million is being extended by HSBC, which is structuring adviser for the loan.

CDL noted that these loans will allow the group to finance new green developments in Singapore and abroad.

“The green loans will be used to finance eligible green development projects as defined in the CDL green finance framework, which was developed to demonstrate how CDL and its group entities intend to fund projects that will deliver environmental benefits to support the group’s business strategy and vision,” the company said.

CDL’s green loans come after its inaugural green bond issuance in 2017. The green bond raised $100 million, which was allocated towards initiatives to enhance energy and water efficiency at CDL’s flagship office building in Republic Plaza.

Said CDL chief executive officer Sherman Kwek: “Green financing plays a pivotal role in channelling capital to build greener and more climate-friendly infrastructure. CDL’s inaugural green bond in 2017 and our new green loans have enabled us to tap investors and banks that are supportive of our sustainability best practices.

“With the global shift to a low-carbon economy, CDL will continue to explore sustainable financing to develop more green buildings that not only bring economic savings but also benefit occupants and the environment.”

In a sustainability report released by CDL this year, the group reported savings of more than $24 million due to energy-efficient initiatives and retrofitting implemented at eight of its office buildings from 2012 to 2018.

As at 4.15pm on Friday, shares in CDL were trading at $9.32 apiece, up 0.2 per cent, or two cents.

  • Others

Energy industry faces climate and job hurdles: Chan Chun Sing

5 April 2019

 – 

  • Singapore

SINGAPORE faces the challenge of building a low-carbon world in the coming decades, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said at an energy and chemicals industry event on Friday morning.

He said the Republic is committed to working with energy and chemicals industry partners on competitiveness and sustainability, such as by fostering the development of next-generation products.

“Singapore will continue to make sure that we stay business-friendly,” he said, pointing to how the world has become “much more competitive for the next investment dollar”.

The minister opened his remarks with a quip about how “whatever happens here may not even make it to the media… because today, many of us take for granted to be able to have such a significant investment”.

Mr Chan cited strategies such as competing on quality and innovation rather than price, and raising productivity with advanced manufacturing. Connectivity, supply chain security and an intellectual property regime were other factors that he brought up.

“We need to have the determination to see this through because these are not projects that will be delivered in one year or two,” he said. “In a world of uncertainty where investors are looking for long-term stability, we need to distinguish ourselves by providing investors with that long-term stability beyond one or two terms of government.”

Despite Singapore’s relatively lower threshold for carbon emissions under international agreements based on its size, “we work within the constraints that we have”, Mr Chan added.

“In fact, if any country is most conscious of this carbon constraint, beyond the land and human resource constraint, it is Singapore,” he said.

Referring to the 2016 Paris Agreement to cap global temperature increases by two degrees Celsius, he added: “Singapore did not have the benefit of a large land mass or humans for us to get a big quota in terms of carbon emissions under the Paris treaty.

“But that is water under the bridge.”

The minister was at the official opening of global petrochemical giant ExxonMobil’s butyl and resins plants at its integrated refining and petrochemical complex on Jurong Island.

The two new facilities, which were completed in 2017, add a resin production capacity of 90,000 tonnes a year and a butyl capacity of 140,000 tonnes a year.

The resin plant, which makes glue used in packaging and diapers, was fired up in December 2017, while the butyl plant, which will make halobutyl rubber for tyres, began production in May 2018 and is expected to start commercial operations in the second half of 2019.

The two plants together add 140 jobs – including engineers, technicians and other supervisory management roles – to ExxonMobil’s headcount in its Singapore manufacturing complex, which is its biggest production plant worldwide. The expansion brings the company’s workforce to more than 4,000 in the Republic in all, with around 1,300 members of that staff in chemicals manufacturing.

Mr Chan, who previously led the National Trades Union Congress, drew a line in his speech between protecting jobs and protecting workers.

“In many countries, businesses make money but workers get left behind. And because workers get left behind, the society fragments and the broad middle starts to ask themselves, why should I continue to support this free trade movement, why should I continue to even adopt technologies?” he warned.

“In fact, we have a recent conference in Singapore, where a major extra-regional country decided to boycott the conference because we promoted the use of technology – because they were protecting jobs. We are protecting workers.”

He did not elaborate on the event or the country in question.

But, touting Singapore’s “strong, stable tripartite labour relationship”, Mr Chan said that companies must continue to emphasise skills training.

“In the past, the unions were about uplifting the rank-and-file workers, as we call them – the lower-wage workers,” he observed. “But today, the labour movement has to work in concert with ExxonMobil management not just to take care of the rank-and-file workers, but also what we call the white-collar workers, the engineers.

“In fact, in today’s world, the ones who are most likely to be disrupted are not necessarily the lower-wage workers. The ones that are most likely to be disrupted, paradoxically, may be the middle-rank workers, the white-collar workers.”

Karen McKee, the newly appointed president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, said in a statement: “Expansion projects like this enable us to better serve the Asia-Pacific region, the key growth market globally for these speciality chemicals.

“These two new speciality chemical plants will strengthen ExxonMobil’s competitive manufacturing base to help meet market demand for these high-performance products.”

Ms McKee, who was the division’s senior vice-president for basic chemicals, integration and growth until Monday, added: “Our regional growth plans include increasing the number of these types of facilities and providing new opportunities for Singapore employees, further demonstrating our continued commitment to Singapore.”

ExxonMobil had confirmed on Tuesday that it would also expand the Singapore integrated manufacturing complex to convert crude products into higher-value ones, in a project that it said “will significantly increase site downstream and chemical earnings potential”.

Construction of the new project – which will add 20,000 barrels a day to certain base stocks capacity, and increase lower-sulphur fuel capacity by 48,000 barrels a day – is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2019, with operations expected to start in 2023.

Gan Seow Kee, chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific, said at the opening ceremony: “These plants enhance the competitiveness of our Singapore integrated complex, and they are a testament to ExxonMobil’s commitment to build on our strong manufacturing base in Singapore, for the future growth of the business in the region…

“We continue to be committed to skills upgrading, talent development, and providing opportunities for all our employees to realise their full potential.”

Singapore’s chemicals cluster contributed S$100.4 billion in output in 2018, or about 28 per cent of overall manufacturing output for the year, according to data from the Economic Development Board. The cluster includes petroleum, petrochemicals, and speciality chemicals.

The chemicals cluster also employed about 25,500 people that year, or 6.7 per cent of the manufacturing workforce.

  • Oil & Gas

Shell sees extension of gas supply up to 2030

5 April 2019

 – 

  • Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The local unit of energy giant Royal Dutch Shell wants to conduct further exploration work near the Malampaya deepwater gas-to-power project, which is a potential large gas resource.

With the new prospects, Shell indicated that the gas supply could be extended to 2029 to 2030, said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, head of the Senate Committee on energy.

Gatchalian said Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) expressed its interest to explore more potential areas around the Malampaya project.

“It’s new information that came from Shell. There are four potential areas around Service Contract 38 and that will eventually extend the same quantity [of gas],” Gatchalian said.

The license for SC 38 that allows the exploration of the Malampaya gas field in northwest Palawan will expire in 2024, but this can be applied for extension with the DOE.

Given this new development, the Senate Committee on Energy will inquire from the DOE how this will impact its strategy with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

Operating since 2001, the Malampaya gas project supplies fuel to around 40 percent of gas-fired plants in Luzon namely the Ilijan, Sta. Rita plant, San Lorenzo, San Gabriel and Avion plants—which supply 3,211 megawatts (MW) to the Luzon grid.

The SC 38 consortium—composed of SPEX with 45 percent, Chevron Malampaya LLC with another 45 percent, and PNOC Exploration Corp. (PNOC EC) with the remaining 10 percent—previously expressed its interest to extend the license to explore for oil and gas in northwest Palawan until 2039 but was stalled due to the tax issue amounting to billions of pesos slapped by the Commission on Audit (COA).

With the Malampaya contract expiring  in 2024, the DOE has been pushing for the development of an LNG integrated terminal to replace Malampaya and to develop the country as trading and trans-shipment hub in the Asia Pacific region.

The DOE has issued the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Regulation (PDNGR), which details the rules and regulations governing the downstream natural gas industry to develop a market and gain energy security and sustainability. The agency had attracted from 13 companies.

Energy World Corp.,  Tanglawan Philippine LNG Inc. and First Gen Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiary FGEN LNG Corp. were issued notices to proceed with their respective proposals to  construct LNG facilities.

The DOE had also ordered a technical study on the remaining supply Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project as it explores various options for the gas field after its contract expires.

PNOC-EC earlier said it was considering running the Malampaya project even without its current partners.

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