5 foreign firms keen on $100-M Batangas-Manila gas pipeline

At least five foreign firms have expressed an interest in constructing and operating the proposed $100-million gas pipeline from Batangas to Manila (Batman I), a ranking government official said over the weekend.

These firms are Japan Gas Corp., Korean Gas Corp., Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) of Malaysia, British Petroleum Plc. and Korean Electric Power Co. (Kepco).

The five foreign gas companies have also signified their interest to convert the 300-MW Sucat I and 600-MW Limay diesel-fired power plants into natural gas facilities.

Apart from Batman I, the government is also thinking of constructing two more gas pipelines from Bataan to Manila (Batman II) and Batangas to Cavite (Batcave).

Four firms, on the other hand, also have plans of supplying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the Philippines. These are: Qatar Gas, Petronas, BP and Unocal.

The official said these firms have already informed the Department of Energy (DOE) about their plans to invest in the proposed 80-kilometer gas facility.

Some of these companies, the official said, have also talked with the PNOC-Exploration Corp., the gas and oil exploration subsidiary of the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), to look into the possibility of conducting feasibility studies with the state-owned oil firm.

Over the last few months, the official said, these firms have been exploring possibilities of forging tie-ups with local firms such as PNOC-EC.

Aside from these five firms, several companies have already signified an interest to take part in the construction of the gas pipeline. These are First Gas Power Corp., Mashhor of Brunei, Chevron Texaco and Shell Philippines Exploration B.V.

As this developed, Energy Undersecretary Jose Emmanuel de Dios said the DOE is pushing for the sale of Sucat and Limay power plants by the end of this year.

"We are proposing to PSALM (Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.) to include Sucat and Limay in the first batch of generation assets of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) to be disposed of after the privatization of the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) in July," De Dios said.

By 2008, both Limay and Sucat are expected to contribute an additional 920 MW to the Luzon grid. On the other hand, the 600-MW converted Sucat II will start operation by 2009.