PNOC: Three firms keen on Mabini port repurposing
STATE-RUN Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) announced that at least three firms are considering investing in the repurposing of its Mabini, Batangas port into an offshore wind integration port.
PNOC President Oliver B. Butalid said the company is looking at deciding early next year but noted that “there can [be] unforeseen delays.”
“The ones who are considering investing in the project are investment funds that already have investments in offshore wind in other countries,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.
PNOC manages the Energy Supply Base (ESB), a private commercial port spanning 19.2 hectares.
The port was initially under PNOC Exploration Corp. but was officially transferred to PNOC in 2018.
The ESB port anticipates being the first ready for use, supporting gigawatts (GW) worth of potential offshore wind projects, as part of the government’s goal to operate offshore wind turbines by 2028.
“PNOC was willing to allocate funds for the port repurposing if we would operate it ourselves. But because of the compressed timetable, it may be wiser to get an experienced entity to fund, design, and operate the port,” Mr. Butalid said.
The Department of Energy (DoE) earlier said that the Philippine Ports Authority has initiated crafting the detailed engineering designs and taking the immediate steps to repurpose three priority ports.
It has identified the Port of Currimao in Ilocos Norte, the Port of Batangas in Sta. Clara, Batangas City, and the Port of Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte, given their proximity to high-potential offshore wind energy service contracts.
A total of 92 offshore wind energy service contracts were already awarded to 38 renewable energy developers with a total potential capacity of 66.10 GW.
The DoE previously announced its plan to hold a green energy auction specific to offshore wind in the middle of 2025.
The Philippines’ offshore wind resources hold an estimated potential of 178 GW, according to the World Bank’s 2022 Offshore Wind Roadmap for the Philippines. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
