By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Oct. 5 -- The Malampaya project off the Philippines has delivered first gas to the Batangas gas handling plant, more than a week before the official inauguration of the gas-to-power scheme by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Considered the biggest and most significant foreign investment to date in the Philippines, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group-operated field is a national flagship project of the Philippine government.
The project is expected to generate $10 billion for the Philippines government over the next 20 years and cut the country's dependence on fuel imports, mainly high-sulfur coal and fuel oil, by 20-30%.
That will eliminate an estimated $670 million/year from the Philippines' annual energy import bill of $2.5 billion, as well as bring in $420 million/year until 2021 in royalty payments from the 515-km, 24-in. pipeline extending from the offshore production platform near the island of Palawan.
The proposed official inauguration will signal the birth of the natural gas industry in the Philippines. The ceremony will take place under intense security, with warships and military aircraft patrolling the area.
David J. Greer, Managing Director of Shell Philippines Exploration BV (SPEX), praised the ability of his staff and contractors "to meet this contractual milestone safely, on time, and within budget."
SPEX is part of an upstream joint venture with Texaco Philippines and Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. that that will supply gas from the offshore Malampaya field to fuel three power plants with a total generating capacity of 2,700 Mw.
Some $2 billion was invested in development of five subsea production wells in the Malampaya field and the pipeline connecting to the shore terminal.
The field is located in block SC38 50 km northwest of Palawan and 600 km southwest of Manila. It was discovered in 1992 and is estimated to contain more than 3 tcf of gas and 120 million bbl of recoverable condensate.
The wet gas is piped from a subsea manifold in 850 m of water to the production platform located in 43 m of water. The platform is a concrete gravity structure, constructed at Subic Bay, mated to a steel topside structure built in Singapore. At 11,500 tonnes, the topside deck was the heaviest structure ever installed using the "float-over" technique.
The gas and condensate are separated at a processing plant aboard the platform. Condensate will be stored temporarily in the concrete gravity structure caisson shells and transferred through a catenary anchored leg mooring (CALM) buoy into tanker for export.
Another $2.5 billion is being invested in construction of a 1,200 Mw gas-fired power plant at Ilijan and a 1,000 Mw plant at Sta Rita, both in Batangas; and a 500-Mw plant in the Calabarzon growth region. Those power plants are being built by First Gas Power Corp., Manila Electric, and Korea Electric Power Co. Philippines.
Plans to convert four other oil-fired power stations in the Philippines to gas in the future are also under consideration.