DOE: Batangas-to-Manila pipeline ready by 2013 PDF

THE gas pipeline that is hoped to eventually transport natural gas from Batangas and Manila (BatMan-1) is targeted to be operational by 2013, according to Jesus Tamang, policy-planning director of the Department of Energy.

But he told reporters that an anchor load or a power plant would be needed to push through the BatMan-1 project.

Tamang said they were looking at two models: “One is by having a power plant as a major load; the other is to have industries located in economic zones to tap the pipeline for their power needs.”

Tamang said the issue was still unresolved because the decommissioned Sucat thermal-power plant has yet to be privatized.

Once privatized the winning bidder could look at either converting or replacing it. “So that’s part of the evaluation but if the pipeline is available, we expect gas supply to start running also,” he said.

Many investors, such as PTT of Thailand, the Japanese power firm Marubeni Corp. and the Russian power firm Gazprom, have shown interest in the gas-pipeline projects.  No agreement has been firmed up, however.

In October 2007, PNOC-Exploration Corp. said two foreign companies have expressed interest in developing the gas pipeline that would transmit natural gas from either Batangas to Manila (BatMan-1) or Bataan to Manila (BatMan-2).

Apart from BatMan-1 and BatMan-2, the government has been looking at putting in place the 40 kilometers (km) Edsa-Taft (ET) loop; the 35-km Sucat-Malaya (Su-Ma) gas pipeline; the 40-km Bataan-Cavite (BatCave) gas pipeline; the 35-km Rosario-Biñan (Ro-Bin) gas pipeline; the 80 km to 100-km BatMan-1 gas pipeline and the 30-km Calaca spur line. –Anthony A. Isla / Reporter, Businessmirror