The Malampaya offshore field supplies major power reactors with greater quantities of gas than originally intended as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGPC) places the Luzon grid on red and yellow alert.
In a report by Inquirer, Prime Energy Resources Development B.V. (Prime Energy), the operator of Service Contract (SC) No. 38 for the Malampaya project, reported that gas supply to customers reached a peak of 290 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD), exceeding the current maximum capacity of the Malampaya wells, which stood at 262 MMSCFD.
Prime Energy’s Managing Director and General Manager Donnabel Cruz said that because there was enough reserve in the gas export pipeline and all generating wells were available, Malampaya was able to meet demand.
Malampaya was providing 20% of Luzon’s electricity needs and had been supplying indigenous fuel to four gas-fired power plants in San Gabriel, Santa Rita, San Lorenzo, and Avion, all situated in Batangas.
Under the extension of the service contract, Prime Energy was permitted to drill two more deepwater wells located in the Malampaya East fields and Camago, and a third exploration well in Bagong Pagasa, roughly 15 kilometers north of Malampaya.
Prime Infra President and CEO Guillaume Lucci said that Malampaya played a crucial role in securing energy and stabilizing gas prices. Lucci added that the firm had just outsourced a drilling vessel that would arrive next year to drill three additional new wells, with two for development wells and one for an exploratory well.
The chief executive further stated that around USD 750 to USD 800 million would be utilized in the next two years to stretch out the lifespan of Malampaya.
