PORT REPURPOSING. Philippine National Oil Company president and chief executive officer Oliver Butalid delivers his closing remarks at the 7th The Everything Energy Forum at the PNOC Corporate Center in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City on Feb. 15, 2024. Butalid said the government-owned and controlled corporation has port assets that can be redeveloped for the needs of the upcoming offshore wind projects. (PNA photo by Kris M. Crismundo)
MANILA – The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is eyeing to redevelop another port asset to cater to the requirement of offshore wind projects.
PNOC president and chief executive officer Oliver Butalid said in a recent interview the port inside the PNOC Industrial Park in Bataan could be repurposed to support the needs of upcoming offshore wind projects.
“We have another property in Bataan, so we’re still figuring it out,” Butalid said, adding that its Bataan asset could be a logistics port rather than an integration port.
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Asian Development Bank have partnered to identify existing ports across the country that can undergo redevelopment as part of preparing the infrastructure for future offshore wind farms.
Ten ports were considered for the repurposing, which include PNOC’s Energy Supply Base (ESB) Port in Batangas, Currimao Port in Ilocos Norte, Port Irene in Cagayan Valley, as well as other ports in Batangas, Mindoro, Bacolod, and Iloilo.
For PNOC’s ESB Port, Butalid said his office was expected to identify its private partner for the redevelopment, costing PHP5 billion, within this year.
He added that the PNOC aims to undertake ESB redevelopment through public-private partnership (PPP), and is only awaiting the implementing rules and regulations of the PPP Code.
The government-owned and controlled corporation is looking into awarding the contract for ESB repurposing to a foreign company.
“We’re confident this year we can find a partner,” Butalid said. “We have resources to repurpose it. We don’t want to operate it because it’s a very specialized kind of setup that nobody in the Philippines knows. So we are looking for a foreign partner.”
The redevelopment will also involve reclamation, expanding the 19-hectare ESB Port by three hectares, he added.
Butalid said ESB Port could also be the country’s first port that can cater to the needs of upcoming offshore wind projects.
According to DOE, it has awarded 82 offshore wind contracts with a total potential capacity of 63.36 gigawatts. (PNA)
