Government-run Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) has enlisted the services of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center to help in completing a detailed feasibility study for the Batangas-Manila (BatMan-1) natural gas pipeline, Zenaida Y. Monsada, energy department oil industry management bureau director, said on Thursday.
“The PNOC has tasked the PPP Center to take the lead in finishing the study,” the energy official said at the sidelines of the Industry Emergency Response forum organised by the Philippine Institute of Petroleum.
Monsada said the study will include the terms of reference for the bidding of the engineering, procurement and construction of the project, and that it should be completed within the year or first quarter next year.
The PPP Center (formerly known as Build-Operate and Transfer Center) was tasked under the Executive Order 8 series of 2010, and signed in September 9, 2010, to facilitate the coordination and monitoring of the PPP programmes and projects.
Cosette V. Canilao, PPP Center executive director, said PNOC has tapped the Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) to undertake the study and structuring of the BatMan-1 project for a possible PPP partnership.
Monsada said the PPP Center has a pool of international consultants, and the government wants to have an international perspective.
The proposed 100-kilometer BatMan-1 pipeline, initially estimated to cost around $100 million to $150 million, is supposed to run from the Malampaya gas-fired facility in Batangas to Sucat, Parañaque. The BatMan-1 is targeted to be operational around 2015 to 2016.
“The pipeline, which will most likely be a monopoly, the ownership will be with the government. But the study will best determine who will operate or maintain the pipeline, which I will be including in the study,” Monsada said.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) earlier expressed interest to finance the BatMan-1 project after previously conducting the prospects of the Philippine natural gas sector.
The Jica study said there is a 600-megawatt demand from industries within the vicinity of the pipeline, and that demand from these industries—excluding that of power-generation firms—will justify the construction of the pipeline.
To date, industries are paying around P60 per kilocalorie for bunker fuel or diesel compared with only P29 per kilocalorie for natural gas.
