GLNG: Philippines commissions first LNG terminal

The Philippines has launched commissioning activities at its first LNG import terminal with the arrival of the 137,500-cubic metre ISH floating storage unit (FSU) on April 26 at the terminal jetty in Batangas Bay about 100 km south of Manila.

It also marks the country’s first shipment of an LNG cargo, because prior to arriving at Atlantic Gulf & Pacific’s (AG&P) Philippines LNG (PHLNG) import terminal, the FSU had received a cargo via a ship-to-ship operation from the Golar Glacier LNG tanker in Subic Bay, north of Batangas Bay. Swiss-based Dutch commodities trader Vitol supplied the LNG shipment to AG&P from the United Arab Emirates.

The regasified LNG will be used to restart San Miguel Corporation’s 1,200-MW Ilijan natural gas power plant to serve Luzon, one of the country’s most populous regions. Ilijan will restart later in May following the restarting of Linseed Field Corporation’s 1,300-MW LNG terminal in Batangas Province. The Ilijan plant has been shut down for several months.