Prime Energy,  a wholly owned subsidiary of Prime Infra and holder of a 40% participating interest in Service Contract 38 for Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, is ramping up efforts to expand its role in the country’s energy security future by investing in new indigenous gas projects and exploring growth beyond its current operations.

“Prime Energy’s vision and purpose have been very clear to us from the start: we aim to be a world-class Filipino energy company providing long-term energy security to Filipinos. … Now we are looking beyond our boxes, and evolve as an exploration company, too,” Prime Energy President and CEO Donnabel Kuizon-Cruz said at the Asia Pacific Energy Council Capital Assembly in Singapore.

Prime Energy is pursuing new farm-in oil and gas exploration opportunities both locally and internationally. The company is partnering with Ratio Petroleum to explore Service Contract 76 in the East Palawan Basin and is also entering the deal process to acquire international brownfield assets.

The company is also preparing to drill an exploration well in a new field called Bagong Pag-Asa, as part of efforts to identify additional domestic gas sources.

These developments come on top of Prime Energy’s ongoing Phase 4 expansion of the Malampaya project. The USD 893 million investment involves drilling two new deepwater wells and connecting them to the existing platform via a 12-kilometer subsea pipeline laid across a deep canyon. The project is considered one of the most complex underwater developments in the Asia-Pacific region.

“With these two new production wells, we hope to extend Malampaya’s life and sustain revenue remittances to the government as we continue to explore new gas sources,” Cruz said.

Cruz also highlighted the importance of developing more Filipino-led oil and gas hubs to reduce dependence on imported fuels. She credited recent government initiatives, including the extension of Malampaya’s Service Contract 38 to 2039 and the passage of the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act, with providing a stronger foundation for future investments in the sector.

Malampaya, the Philippines’ only operating indigenous gas field, supplies around 20% of Luzon’s electricity and has generated more than USD 13.5 billion in revenues for the government over the past two decades.

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