ASEANEWS HEADLINE-ECONOMY | MANILA: Marcos bares major Malampaya gas find
WATCH VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuwNIK8nbiw
Marcos: ‘Significant’ natural gas discovery made in Malampaya, to strengthen PH’s power supply | ANC
.
Located five kilometers east of the existing Malampaya gas field, the reservoir is expected to significantly boost the country’s energy supply and reduce reliance on imported fuel.
Marcos said the well contained around 98 billion cubic feet of gas in place, equivalent to nearly 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
The well can supply electricity to over 5.7 million households, 9,500 buildings or nearly 200,000 schools for a year, he noted.
 |
Indonesia is not worried and is focused on concluding negotiations with the US,” Coordinating Economy Ministry spokesman Haryo Limanseto, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
.
Based on initial testing, the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet daily, indicating high productivity comparable to the original Malampaya wells.
“This indicates that the well has the potential to produce even more, confirming it is a high-productivity resource comparable to the original Malampaya wells,” Marcos said.
“This helps Malampaya’s contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come,” he added.
Aside from natural gas, the discovery also includes condensate, a high-value liquid fuel that can help support the government’s efforts to stabilize the country’s power supply, the President said.
.
|
|
The project is being undertaken by the Service Contract 38 Consortium, led by Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., in partnership with UC38, PNOC Exploration Corp. and Prime Oil and Gas Inc.Prime Energy is the natural gas exploration and development company of Prime Infra, the infrastructure arm of tycoon Enrique Razon.
The Malampaya gas field off Palawan serves as the country’s primary source of indigenous natural gas and a vital contributor to Luzon’s power supply.
“We also take pride that Filipinos led this drilling. Most importantly, they finished it without any accidents or environmental incidents,” Marcos said.
MAE-1 is the first milestone under the $893-million Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign, which includes the Camago-2 and Bagong Pag-asa wells, he noted.
After MAE-1, the next steps are the completion and testing of Camago-3, followed by the drilling of the Pag-asa exploration well to pursue more potential gas resources.
The drilling campaign launched last year follows the successful installation of two production wells in 2013 and a depletion compression platform in 2015.
In May 2023, Marcos signed the SC 38 renewal agreement, extending the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project for another 15 years, or until February 2039.
“This proves that with responsible environmental protection and strong collaboration between the government and the private sector, we can achieve a more reliable energy supply for every Filipino,” Marcos said.
The discovery carried personal significance for Marcos, who earlier noted that policies enabling the Malampaya project were first laid in 1972 through a presidential decree issued by his late father and namesake.
Prime Energy hailed the discovery of a new natural gas field as a breakthrough for Philippine energy independence.
The new gas field reinforces Malampaya’s status as the nation’s sole indigenous gas source, boosting the existing field’s remaining recoverable volumes by an estimated 30 percent, it said.
“This gas discovery is a victory for the Filipino people,” the company said. “When we assumed operatorship, we committed to the President and the nation to breathe new life into Malampaya and revitalize the indigenous natural gas sector. Today, we are delivering on that commitment.”
“We thank President Marcos for his leadership, particularly for approving the extension of SC38 and for the enactment of the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act, which provides the stability and confidence needed to pursue continued exploration of additional gas resources,” Prime Energy said.
World-class expertise
For Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, this recent development highlights the “world-class” expertise of Filipino engineers in strengthening the country’s energy security.
While boosting the country’s power supply, the new gas find could also lead to lower electricity prices and attract greater investment in the energy sector, according to market watchers.
“The latest discovery may encourage investor interest in other potential areas of natural gas deposits in the Philippines. There are major domestic banks that are ready to support the sector,” investment banker Juan Paolo Colet told The STAR.
Currently, natural gas accounts for around 14 percent of the country’s power generation mix.
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines is considered a small player in terms of natural gas production, economist Bienvenido Oplas Jr. said.
|
|
The country derives nearly all of its domestic gas supply from the Malampaya field, which produced about 70.3 million standard cubic feet of gas in 2024, based on the latest available data.
By comparison, Energy Institute data showed that Malaysia recorded the region’s largest gas production in 2024 at 80.4 billion cubic feet, followed by Indonesia with 71.4 billion cubic feet.
Thailand produced 28.5 billion cubic feet, while Vietnam generated 6.1 billion cubic feet. — Brix Lelis
