The Department of Energy said Tuesday Samat LNG Corp. is proceeding with its $67-million small-scale liquefied natural gas receiving terminal and regasification facility in Barangay Sisiman, Mariveles, Bataan.
DOE director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau Rino Abad said Samat LNG began securing the site and “they are moving fast.”
The department issued the notice to proceed to Samat LNG in January this year, directing the company to obtain permits from other government agencies and secure financial closing for the terminal and regasification facility.
Samat LNG has 12 months to comply with the requirements from the date of the issuance of the NTP to proceed with the project construction under Department Circular No. DC2017-11-0012 or the rules and regulations governing the downstream natural gas industry.
“They are closing the contract for the site, then they will proceed with the permitting,” Abad said.
Samat’s LNG project will be capable of importing 200,000 to 400,000 tons of LNG annually and is expected to supply LNG to fuel small-scale independent power producers, manufacturing companies and transport fleets.
LNG will be distributed to customers by a dedicated fleet of LNG trucks, small LNG vessels and barges within its neighboring regions.
Samat LNG originally planned to start commercial operations of its LNG project by the first half of 2024.
The DOE earlier said small-scale LNG terminals, which are modular and can be constructed quickly, are ideal for an archipelagic nation such as the Philippines.
It said these LNG terminals can supply fuel for off-grid and on-grid capacities.
“Our aim is to bring LNG to the Philippines, enabling companies and others to change over from diesel to cleaner, more affordable gas as a fuel for power generation, manufacturing and as a transportation fuel,” Samat LNG president and chief executive Roy Watson said earlier.
“By doing so, we’ll play our part in shifting the energy mix an important step closer to the essential goal of long-term sustainability,” Watson said.
Samat LNG is registered with the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan.