Philippines’ San Miguel buys state firm’s reserve gas for $1.2 billion

MANILA, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said on Monday its subsidiary had acquired the reserve gas of the Philippine National Oil Corp for USD 1.2 billion.

San Miguel said the gas, sourced from a gas field near the South China Sea, will fuel its 1,200-megawatt power plant until 2024.

The Southeast Asian nation will need to import liquefied natural gas in the future as its only major gas field is expected to run dry by 2027, based on the government’s projection.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by John Geddie)