The PNOC-EC president said that the company will proceed with the gas pipeline project once access to gas is assured. Mr del Pilar said the consortium is already bidding for the gas and the contract may be awarded to the winning bidder by the first quarter this year. He added that delivery of the gas is expected to be in 2012.
In October last year, Mr del Pilar said that two foreign companies have expressed interest to develop the gas pipeline that will transmit natural gas from either Batangas to Manila (BatMan-1) or Bataan to Manila (BatMan-2). The government is also looking at constructing the 40-km Edsa-Taft loop, the 35-km Sucat-Malaya gas pipeline, the 40-km Bataan-Cavite gas pipeline, the 35-km Rosario-Binan gas pipeline, the 80- to 100-km BatMan-1 gas pipeline, and the 30-km Calaca spur line. But the development of these pipelines remains dependent on whether there will be additional gas supplies available from the Malampaya gas project.