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NEWS ARCHIVES |
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GMA Reveals Follow-Up Actions, Policy Directions To Promote Natural Gas Industry In Country |
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 President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has revealed concrete follow-up actions and
policy directions that the administration will take to promote the
natural gas industry that was put on stream yesterday with the
inauguration of the Malampaya onshore plant in Batangas.First on the President’s agenda is the opening up of the bidding for the construction of the land-based gas pipeline to complement the project. The President said it shall the administration’s policy to promote activities in the downstream sector by offering access for all land-based gas pipeline networks to ensure the flow of investments.  Already,
the President revealed, several Japanese, Philippine, Malaysian and
European companies have signified interest in investing in a
land-based gas pipeline network from Batangas to Manila and eventually
Bataan.To promote access to all, the President said, the Department of Energy will encourage interested parties to organize a consortium for a land-based gas pipeline project. The pipeline will run from Tabangao, Batangas, where the Malampaya natural gas onshore plant is located, to a gas-fired power plant in Metro Manila.  Second,
as part of the privatization plan for the National Power Corporation (Napocor),
the President said the government is willing to require the conversion
of some Napocor plants into gas-fired power plants in exchange for the
Malampaya consortium to consider reducing the gas price to a level
lower than their existing gas sales contracts.The President said this will impact directly on the consumers through lower electricity rates and reduce further stranded costs under a competitive market. Third, in order to win the battle against air pollution and accelerate the benefits of cleaner air, the President said the administration will give top priority to the use of compressed natural gas or CNG for all public transport. “We will start first with Batangas in the next two years and ultimately in the whole of CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), including Metro Manila by the year 2004, with the private sector taking the lead,” she said. Fourth, the administration will promote the development and use of small gas fields for non-power applications, the President said. The President said that initially, the use of the Libertad Field in Cebu and the Sultan Sa-Barungis Field in Maguindanao shall be considered for use as bottled natural gas, much like liquefied petroleum gas, for non-power applications by next year. To sustain the growth of the natural gas industry in the long term, the President said “we may need to explore the importation of liquefied natural gas in the future to improve our energy base if no new gas fields are developed.” “The natural gas industry in the Philippines is still in its initial stage,” the President said. “We should therefore continue with this formula for a better tomorrow and quality of life for the Filipino people.” |
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