Staying on TOP

Although it is one of the country’s biggest companies, the Philippine National Oil Co. intends to get even bigger.

"We have to grow if we want to stay on top," said PNOC Energy Development Corp. chairman Sergio Apostol. "Otherwise, we will be swallowed by competition."

PNOC-EDC is the major revenue earner for PNOC, which has been increasing the shares of indigenous and renewable energy sources in its total power generation portfolio.

Projects

PNOC-EDC is currently working on generating 500 megawatts from wind power facilities that will be built along the Pacific Rim within the next two to three years. So far, it has identified sites in Ilocos Norte, East and Northern Samar and Surigao.

Financing will come from soft loans and possibly grants from donor countries like Denmark, Japan and Germany.

With the success of the Malampaya gas find in offshore northwest Palawan, the search will also continue for natural gas. This time, however, the search will be on land, where the costs of exploration are cheaper. Encouraging results have recently been seen at the Victoria well in Tarlac.

Investments

Since the passage of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, Apostol has not stopped talking with potential investors.

For one, PNOC is partnering with Lebanese firm, Gulf Resources, and US firm, Unocal, to explore and develop potential sites like Mt. Lobi in Leyte, Sorsogon and an expansion of the geothermal fields in Palimpinon.

For another, it is talking with a Chinese group from Hubei province in China to do initial studies that will develop mini hydros in Leyte, Samar, Negros Occidental and Isabela.

Like other power suppliers in the deregulated power industry, PNOC-EDC will be buying and selling power in the marketplace. "The company will be positioned as one of the country’s future major power suppliers," said Apostol.

To do the marketing, a new subsidiary is currently being put up.

Going international

Since joining PNOC-EDC, Apostol has leveraged the company’s experience in geothermal exploration and development and moved into the international arena. PNOC is set to build a 20-MW power plant in Papua New Guinea. It has recently entered into a joint venture with Pertamina of Indonesia for geothermal exploration and development. It has also signed a geothermal drilling contract in Brisbane, Australia.

Because of his background as a congressman from Leyte with constituents to care for, Apostol has initiated livelihood projects like organic vegetable farming in the areas where PNOC-EDC operates. For these projects, PNOC-EDC uses Spanish technology, which is ahead of Israel in organic vegetable farming.

For Apostol, who has been associated with politics since 1992, being a corporate chairman is harder than being a congressman.

"In politics, you know who your enemies are. In the corporate jungle, it is not the case. What is hard is people are resistant to change but change is inevitable if you want progress," he said.

Given a few more years, PNOC-EDC’s chairman intends to go back to his first love, which is public service.