Brunei eyeing Philippine LNG, power generation projects

Brunei is interested in the proposed liquefied natural gas facility to be put up in Mindanao.

But Brunei doesn’t want to merely supply natural gas, but is also looking at downstream opportunities, which could be power generation, according to the Philippines' Energy Secretary Rene D. Almendras.

Almendras revealed that the LNG project was discussed preliminarily with his counterpart, Brunei Darussalam Energy Minister on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit in Vladivostok, Russia.

“I invited Brunei to have a serious look at Mindanao … they are interested in LNG projects,” he said.

He added that the capacity being explored is 300 megawatts or even higher.

The LNG facility is part of the long-term plan for Mindanao. It will address mid-merit capacity needs of the grid following the construction of the coal-fed baseload plants.

The site for the planned LNG handling facility in the region will be in Macajalar Bay in Misamis Oriental, based on the outcome of the study of Canadian Gas Service International (CGSI), the entity contracted by the World Bank group to map out the transactional design of the proposed Mindanao LNG project.

Investors will be tapped for the “development, construction and operation of a floating terminal” at the proposed site.

Apart from the Mindanao project, the energy department is also pursuing the development of LNG facilities in the Luzon grid. One of the proposed sites would be Batangas; while private investors are separately looking at Quezon and Bataan.

For more.