Secretary Angelo T. Reyes, Philippine Department of Energy said that an investment of at least $5 billion is required between 2009 and 2014 to totally develop Philippines' downstream natural gas industry, Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. The amount will be mainly used for construction of natural gas pipelines in Luzon and gas-fired power plants.
“Our policy is to diversify energy sources that would create various potentials for investments, which include putting up of critical infrastructure to bring the energy to various end-users,” Reyes explained.
“One of our top priorities is the proposed gas transmission network in Luzon to bring the gas from the Malampaya to different economic zones and transports sectors in different areas,” he added.
The funds are mainly needed to construct 423 kilometers of transmission and 504 square kilometers of distribution pipelines. The projects on priority includes the 140 km pipeline from Bataan to Manila (BatMan 2); 40-km Edsa-Taft loop; 35 km from Sucat to Malaya; 40 km from Batangas to Cavite (BatCave); 35 km from Rosario to Biñan (RoBin); 100 km from Batangas to Manila (Batman 1); and the 30-km Calaca-Spurline (CatLine).
Reyes said that the government required investors to construct gas-fired power plants, which will include greenfield projects that can generate a combined 3,000 MW and power plant conversion projects that can generate some 600 MW.
The DOE is also encouraging investments in natural gas (whether imported or sourced from the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project) that can be used by many industries, mainly in the 30 economic zones in the Calabarzon area and in Subic and Clark.
With an estimated capacity to power around 3,000 MW within 25 years, the Malampaya project of Shell Philippines Exploration BV presently provides 2,700 MW of natural gas to three gas-fired power plants along with the Ilijan plant of Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco); Sta. Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo plants, all in Batangas. By this, another 300 MW will be available that can be used for many purposes along with power generation and transport.
Additionally, the investors can invest on projects that will use compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport. Mainly, prospective companies could take a look at investing in mother and refilling stations, CNG vehicles and conversion kits.