The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is advancing efforts to establish a liquefied natural gas (LNG) gas-based industry to support various industrial processes other than energy production, said director-general Tereso Panga.
PEZA is promoting LNG as an alternative fuel for industries such as food processing, plastics and chemical manufacturing and glass production.
“PEZA identified opportunities for energy self-sufficiency and industrial growth in Mindanao and the West Philippine Sea, where oil and gas deposits are reported,” Panga said.
He noted efforts of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) to collaborate with Indonesia’s Pertamina and Malaysia’s Petronas for LNG-powered generation facilities in off-grid islands in Visayas and Mindanao, opening opportunities for industry leaders and local producers like FGEN LNG Corp., AG&P and SMC.
Cebu-based Topline Energy and its US partner Excelerate Energy are also seeking approval for an LNG infrastructure project in the Mactan Economic Zone, which could pave the way for the country’s first trigeneration facility.
The agency explored the possibility of a trigeneration facility at the Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) in partnership with Shell-UK Sustainability Group in 2019.
“The objective was to provide for an embedded power generation, district heating and cooling system for our CEZ locators. However, we decided not to push through with the project because LNG was costly at that time to produce and deliver,” Panga said.
While Shell proposed using LPG as an alternative, PEZA deemed it a fire hazard risk.
The Philippines lags behind its ASEAN neighbors in oil and gas investment, contributing just 0.7 percent to GDP compared to Vietnam’s 10 percent, Indonesia’s 12 percent and Malaysia’s 20 percent.
PEZA also aims to establish self-generation industrial parks (SGIPs) to promote alternative energy sources and attract more ecozone investments.