Philippines's goal to be Southeast Asia's LNG hub gets 'great interests' from 5 countries

Philippines's goal to be Southeast Asia's LNG hub gets 'great interests'
from 5 countries

The Philippine government has received "great interests" from five countries
that want to be involved in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.

"Japan, China, Russia, Korea and including Indonesia-these are countries
that have shown great interest in the project," Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi
said on Wednesday after the agency's "E-Power Mo" Energy Consumers and
Stakeholders conference in Manila.

The five countries are among the 26 groups included in the list of the
Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), which earlier received unsolicited
proposals for a plan to build a LNG facility. The PNOC was supposed to come
up with a shortlist in end-June.

"They have shown great interest, but it doesn't mean we have shortlisted.
But we are evaluating all proposals. We can't say it will all be a
government-to-government undertaking. It will depend on their roles, what
capacity they are going to play because this project is a bit complex. It
depends who can give the best solution," Cusi added.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and PNOC will meet on Friday to thoroughly
discuss the proposals of these five countries. "We will meet on Friday.so we
can evaluate them," said the DOE chief said.

The DOE is sticking to its 2018 target to launch the LNG project. "We want
to complete it within the term of President Duterte," Cusi said.

PNOC has been vocal in saying that it will build an LNG terminal and is open
to partnering with the private sector.

Last month Cusi said he wants the Philippines to become Southeast Asia's LNG
hub.

"We are determining if the Philippines can be the hub for LNG. We missed
being the hub for aviation, the hub for maritime. Maybe, we can become the
hub for LNG in Southeast Asia," he said.

LNG is natural gas that has been converted into a liquid state for easier
storage and transportation. Upon reaching its destination, LNG is regasified
so it can be distributed through pipelines as natural gas.

"The Philippines already failed in aviation becoming a hub despite our
geographical advantage and location, and in maritime. So this would probably
an opportunity. It's a dream," Cusi added.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/phls-goal-to-be-southeast-asias-lng-hub-get
s-great-interests-from-5-countries/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com