Senate panel: Developing natural gas to attract investments, ensure energy supply

Developing the natural gas industry in the Philippines is vital to attracting investments and improving its energy security.

A Senate technical working group (TWG) concluded this as it finalized the energy committee’s report on Senate Bill (SB) 2247 or the proposed Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act.

During the TWG’s deliberations on the bill, it was emphasized that the shift of government policy towards clean energy by developing the country’s natural gas would open up a larger market share for investors.

“Pagdating sa mga gagamit ng fuel for gas-fired power plants, mauuna ‘yung gas ko kapag galing dito ‘yung gas ko, di ba?… We are not prioritizing blindly. We are prioritizing Filipino gas first. ‘Yun ang policy naming because naniniwala kami na dapat hindi ang first step ay importation,” said lawyer Gareth Tungol, who presided over the TWG meeting on behalf of Senate energy committee chairperson Raffy Tulfo.

(In terms of using fuel for gas-fired power plants, the locally produced gas will be prioritized, right? We are not prioritizing blindly. We are prioritizing Filipinos’ gas first. That is our policy because we believe that the first option should not be importation.)

“I think ‘yun ‘yung best driver ng investment natin dahil instead na mag-invest sila sa importation, mag-invest sila sa facilities, sa mga infrastructure. So may trabaho plus may foreign investment,” he added.

(I think that is the best driver of investments in the country because instead of investing on importation, they will invest in facilities and infrastructure here. So that will create jobs and there will be more foreign investments.)

Job-generating

With investments expected to come in with the development of natural gas in the country, Tungol said big corporations would need Filipinos to work for them.

“It’s not only income-generating for the investors, but it’s also job-generating for our country,” Tungol said.

“Marami tayong skilled engineers dito sa Philippines, marami tayong [overseas Filipino workers] na nagtatrabaho sa [liquified natural gas] plants sa ibang bansa, so we have the capacity as a Filipino people to actually support the industry pero wala lang tayong industry dito. So ‘yun ‘yung ginagawa namin… bigyan mo sila ng opportunity to invest, mayroon tayong opportunity to work,” he added.

(We have a lot of skilled engineers here in the Philippines, we have a lot of overseas Filipino workers who are working in the liquified natural gas plants in other countries. So we have the capacity as a Filipino people to actually support the industry but the problem is we don’t have the industry here. So that is what we are trying to do here… give them the opportunity to invest, then we will have the opportunity to work.)

Representatives of the Department of Energy who were present during the hearing expressed support for the development of the country’s natural gas industry as this also seeks to promote growth in the power generation industry.

In terms of energy security, Tungol said natural gas plants have “faster transition” which can easily provide excess power to areas with lesser electricity supply, as compared to coal plants which are also “a lot more ecologically damaging.”

“Ang masasabi lang namin, hindi siya kasing volatile as coal. Hindi siya pumuputok, hindi rin siya nagdi-dip ng sobrang baba, magmi-middling siya towards lower energy costs talaga,” he went on.

(What we can say is that natural gas is not as volatile as coal. This is middling towards lower energy costs.)

Protecting the environment

At a Senate hearing last year, Power for People (P4P) expressed its opposition to pending bills pushing for the use of natural gas as an energy source in the country.

The group said the proposed legislation is pro-billionaires, and that this would pose a threat to the environment.

Tulfo, author of SB 2247, earlier argued that natural gas is a “cleaner burning fuel, producing fewer emissions and pollutants” and “offers a more environment-friendly alternative” compared to coal.

Tulfo said natural gas stands out as a “reliable bridge” as the country seeks to transition to renewable sources of energy. — VDV, GMA Integrated News