Vires Energy Corp., now wholly-owned by A Brown Company Inc. is seeking a long-term gas supply contract and baseload power off-take agreements for its integrated liquefied natural gas project in Batangas.
A Brown said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Monday that Vires aimed to start commercial operations by 2027.
The company said it acquired all the outstanding shares of VEC following its acquisition of the remaining 0.005-percent stake.
A Brown acquired last year 99.995 percent of the outstanding capital of Vires owned by Argo Group Pte. Ltd. of Singapore for P50.2 million.
VEC is the proponent for the integrated floating LNG storage and regasification terminal and the 450-megawatt floating natural gas-fired power plant in Barangay Simlong, Batangas City.
The project will use a floating power plant or power barge instead of the conventional land-based facility.
VEC secured an environmental compliance certificate and the Board of Investments registration for fiscal incentives for both the floating power plant and the LNG terminal components of the project.
The Department of Energy initially issued a notice to proceed in April 2021 for the LNG terminal component.
It granted an extension of the NTP in January 2023 with a validity period extending to October 2023.
“The acquisition of Vires Energy reflects our confidence in the role of natural gas in providing for a clean and cost-effective energy source. We are excited to push the project forward,” A Brown chairman Walter Brown said earlier.
Brown said the acquisition would increase the investment of the company and raise revenue from the return on the investment in the future.
A Brown serves as the holding company of the Brown Group of Companies. It is primarily engaged in the business of real estate development in Cagayan de Oro City and Initao in Misamis Oriental; Cainta, Rizal; and Valencia City, Bukidnon; and Butuan City, Agusan del Norte.
A Brown’s subsidiaries also ventured into oil palm nursery and seedlings distribution, palm oil milling, operation of hotels, real estate brokerage, power generation and investment in gold mining assets.
