Businessman Gregorio Araneta III expressed concerns that the government’s move to review its options on the planned $2-billion integrated liquefied natural gas project will further delay country’s objective of achieving energy stability.
Araneta in a recent interview said his group already had an existing unsolicited proposal called “energy city,” which had undergone extensive and detailed studies over the past few years.
Philippine National Oil Co., however, rejected the proposal submitted by Araneta-owned Energy Oil and Gas Holdings Inc.
PNOC is now exploring at least two options, either a build-operate-transfer scheme or a joint venture that it plans to seal with private sector partners on the planned $2-billion facility.
“In this country, an LNG terminal and then energy power plants should be done long time ago. We have give a proposal to do this in 2015, there was company in PNOC that granted it. Then they write tho me that they are revoking it,” Araneta said.
“It took me a long time to put this project up. If they decide to bid out or form joint venture, then they are just delaying the process of achieving energy stability,” he added.
EOGHI wants to lease 90 hectares owned by PNOC’s former subsidiary Alternative Fuels Corp. PNOC found the company’s lease offer below the fair rental value.
Araneta said his company offered to lease the property for P63 per square meter, which PNOC wants to increase to P78 per sq. m.
Araneta said PNOC could just be using the rental rate issue to delay the process.
Araneta earlier said it had teamed up with businessman Manuel Pangilinan and Mitsui and Osaka Gas of Japan as joint partners.
The group plans to initially build a 600-megawatt LNG power plant at roughly $1.2 billion and eventually increase the output to 1,200 MW and 2,000 MW.
“We believe that this project is good for the country. But PNOC is acting as landlord rather than a part of the Department of Energy that should be more concerned about energy stability,” Araneta said.