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CPC gas terminals, pipelines could be opened to others

Taiwan, Asia's third-biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, is drafting a law that could end state-run oil refiner CPC Corp's (中油) monopoly on imports of the fuel, a senior official said.

The proposed Natural Gas Industry Act would allow natural gas users to lease the refiner's LNG terminals and pipelines, Bureau of Energy Deputy Director General Wang Yunn-ming (王運銘) said by telephone from Taipei yesterday.

The draft law will be submitted to the Cabinet by the end of April for approval, he said.

CPC owns the only two LNG receiving terminals in Taiwan. Power producers, including Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), buy all their gas from the refiner.

"Under the law, big users such as Taiwan Power can look for gas supplies on their own," Wang said. "It'll make the market more flexible and freer."

Taipower, which accounts for about 60 percent of Taiwan's LNG consumption, is seeking government approval to import the fuel, bypassing CPC, the utility's chairman, Edward Chen (陳貴明), told reporters in Taipei last Thursday.

The government forecasts LNG demand will rise 28 percent to 10.5 million tonnes in 2010 from last year's 8.2 million tonnes, after construction of more cleaner-burning gas-fired generators.

Gas-fired generators account for 33 percent of Taiwan's installed capacity.

Taipower is considering building an LNG import terminal, Chen said last week. Until then, it will seek to lease CPC's facilities, he said.

Taipower's natural-gas purchases could rise 27 percent to 5.58 million tonnes this year from the 4.38 million tonnes estimated for last year, chief engineer Tu Yueh-yuan said on Dec. 6.
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