Marcos leads ceremonial gas activation on Malampaya Phase 4, touts more reliable energy supply

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vouched for the country’s more reliable and stable energy supply with the entry of the first gas from two newly developed Malampaya wells. 

Marcos on Thursday led the ceremonial gas activation of the Malampaya Phase 4 project at the Malampaya Onshore Gas Plant in Batangas City, joined by Prime Infrastructure Capital Incorporated chairman Enrique Razon of the Malampaya Consortium. 

The activation saw the successful flow of natural gas from the project’s Malampaya East-1 and Camago-3 wells into the existing Malampaya production system.

Marcos said the indigenous natural gas will flow from offshore Palawan through the Malampaya gas transmission infrastructure to Batangas, and ultimately to the gas-fired power plants serving the Luzon grid.

“Anong ibig sabihin nito para sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino? Sariling gas. Mas maaasahang kuryente. Mas matatag na enerhiya para sa ating bansa,” he said in his speech. 

The chief executive added that maximizing the use of Malampaya gas could contribute to more competitive power rates “because we are relying less on imported energy sources that are subject to volatile international energy prices.” 

The project added an estimated 222 billion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas reserves, capable of generating approximately 31.46 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity-enough to power 13.11 million Filipino households for one year, according to Prime Infra. 

Earlier this year, Marcos announced that the two new Malampaya wells were successfully drilled and tested, which led to the discovery of an estimated 222 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Both wells were connected to the existing Malampaya subsea production system in June. 

Marcos further noted that his administration will be “sustaining this momentum through continued cooperation among the government, industry, and our development partners.”

“On the part of government, you may rest assured that we will continue to pursue initiatives that foster a more conducive environment for energy exploration and production,” he stated.

Razon recognized the work of the consortium as he vowed to continue working for new gas explorations.

“We must continue exploring for new gas resources and invest in the infrastructure needed to bring them to market,” he said.