Power producer First Gen has awarded a contract to a unit of China’s state-owned energy giant CNOOC to supply one liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to its FSRU-based terminal in Batangas, Philippines.
The award of the LNG cargo follows an international tender issued by First Gen last month.
According to a statement by First Gen, CNOOC Gas and Power Trading & Marketing will supply one LNG cargo of about 130,000 cbm in May on a DES basis to the company’s unit, FGEN Singapore.
CNOOC’s unit will deliver the shipment to the 162,000-cbm FSRU BW Batangas that is currently berthed at the First Gen Clean Energy Complex (FGCEC) in Batangas City.
FGEN will use the supplies for its existing gas-fired power plants, also located in the complex.
The company has a portfolio of four gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,017 MW that have been supplied for many years with gas from the Malampaya offshore gas field.
It is now buying LNG to replace declining volumes from the Malampaya gas field.
Fifth tender
This is the fifth tender First Gen issued since last year.
Prior to this tender, the firm launched a tender for a delivery from March 15 to March 31, 2024.
However, the firm said in a filling to the stock exchange on February 28 that it will not award this emergency tender if it does not get firm commitment from Manila Electric regarding the costs of the LNG supply.
Meralco said that it was constrained to not pay for certain LNG-related costs during commercial operations of the Santa Rita, San Lorenzo, and San Gabriel power plants in the absence of clearance from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The ERC recently said it has resolved to allow First Gas Power (FGPC) and FGP Corporation (FGP) to use LNG as an alternative fuel supply source to run the Santa Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants, respectively, but only in the case of the occurrence of a fuel supply force majeure event.
Shell, Trafigura, TotalEnergies
LNG giant Shell suppled the first LNG cargo for commissioning purposes to First Gen’s FSRU-based LNG terminal in August last year.
Shell delivered the LNG cargo from Australia onboard the 2021-built 174,000-cbm, LNGShips Manhattan.
Moreover, First Gen selected Trafigura to supply the second LNG cargo and the energy trader supplied the cargo with the 2021-built 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, Hellas Diana, owned by Latsco and chartered by Trafigura.
TotalEnergies Gas & Power Asia, a unit of French energy giant TotalEnergies won a tender to supply the third cargo in December.
The 2020-built 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, Qogir, owned by TMS Cardiff Gas and chartered by TotalEnergies, delivered the third LNG cargo to the FSRU from the Inpex-operated Ichthys LNG plant in Australia.
As per the FSRU, First Gen awarded in 2021 the five-year FSRU contract to BW LNG.
BW Batangas arrived in the Philippines in June last year to start serving First Gen’s LNG import terminal developed by its unit FGEN LNG.
This is the second LNG import facility in the Philippines as AG&P kicked off commissioning activities in Apriil 2023 at the country’s first import terminal following the arrival of the 137,500-cbm FSU Ish at the terminal’s jetty in Batangas Bay.
