Marubeni Interested in Supplying Gas to Philippines

Japan’s Marubeni Corp. has expressed interest in supplying natural gas to the Philippines, once the government is able to put in place all the necessary infrastructure.

“The problem is that the Philippines does not have any receiving facilities. Malampaya is providing gas to the (natural gas plants), but I heard Malampaya will expire and, maybe in the future, we will need to import natural gas from overseas,” said Takashi Ishigami, president and chief executive officer of Marubeni Philippines Corp, Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

Marubeni is now sourcing its natural gas from Qatar to supply facilities in Japan. But according to Ishigami, the price of natural gas from Qatar is very expensive.

The company is now negotiating with the United States to secure natural gas from US suppliers, Ishigami said. Marubeni expects that once the local natural gas market matures, cheaper natural gas from the US may benefit the Philippines, the newspaper said.